Fighting Darkness
by xCastielsGirlx
Summary: It's 2014 and the world is in an apocalyptic state. Tired of the way things are going, Naruto decides to branch out to try and save what he loves about humamnity. With Sasuke, Itachi and his friends, Naruto's bringing back the world.  AU SASUNARU
1. Prologue Teaser Chapter

**Fighting Darkness**

**By xCastielsGirlx**

**Author's Note: **Well, this wouldn't leave me alone so now I'm writing it! Fun Times! I hope you enjoy this! Also, the next chapter won't be out until next year. Think of this as a teaser :)

**Warnings: **shonen-ai (SasuNaru), OC's, violence, gore, swearing, death, mentions of drug use

**Rating: **T

**Full Summary: **It's the year 2014; the World is in a post-apocalyptic state because of its ruler that took over 15 years ago. Two survived the tragedy that became known as the Uchiha Massacre; Uchiha Itachi and Sasuke. Sasuke was only an infant, Itachi 8 years old. Uzumaki Naruto was the only survivor of the Namikaze Massacre, sent to an orphanage whilst the other two were never seen again. It's all coming together now though. As the World tilts on the edge of existence, it's up to the Freedom Fighters to save it. So, who's willing to stop the Apocalypse?

**Dedications: **I, xCastielsGirlx, dedicate this FanFiction to the following Authors: Juura99, Fullmetal Gary, Visualxx and .Apples.

**Disclaimer:**

Cassie: Yes, it's that time again!  
>Enjeru: Ha, I don't know why you sound so pleased; this is a constant reminder that will keep you awake and crying at night!<br>Matt: Angel! Don't be so harsh!  
>Enjeru: EVERYONE STOP CALLING ME ANGEL!<br>Genie: But that's what your name translates to!  
>Cassie: Everyone, please! Now…*evil smirk. Drags in Kaoru*<br>Kaoru: Damn woman, let me go!  
>Cassie: Say the disclaimer!<br>Kaoru: *sigh* FINE! Cassie-dobe doesn't own Naruto! I, Kaoru, and my brother Kamari here *drags in Kamari* belong to Juura99 as well as Juura. Gary belongs to Fullmetal Gary.  
>Cassie: Damn stra- WAIT A MINUTE! *Stage darkens down whilst fiction starts to roll*<p>

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

Fifteen Years Ago…

Beeping was heard in the back of the van as it drove down the road, hitting a pothole every now and again, evidence of the catastrophe that had happened moments ago. Three people were in the van. A dark brunette was in the passenger seat, looking at the map; a woman with light brown hair was typing away on a laptop in the back, shouting things that would only make sense if you were in the group, and a red-haired man who was clenching the steering wheel so hard, it was letting out a quiet groan under the pressure.

"There!" the dark brunette yelled, pointing to a site in the distance which was still smoking slightly. Blue eyes of the woman widened as she saw the sight before her. As soon as the van pulled up to the scene, everyone piled out of the van to look around the wreckage. The woman was shouting frantically whilst the two males were looking around in the rubble of what used to be a country cottage. A shrill scream hit the men's ears and they rushed over to see what was wrong. The redhead gagged whilst the brunette put a hand on his mouth in shock.

"Where's Sasuke and Itachi?" the redhead asked, frantically looking about for the children, but less so for the bodies- or what would be left of them.

"I think we need to call Him," The brunette spoke in a calm voice, the complete opposite of what he wanted to do. He wanted to scream, shout, hit something. Pulling out his phone, he hit the speed dial.

Five miles away, in a small office, a blood splattered phone rang out of one Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina, the wailing of a blond infant in the background.

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><p><span>Present Day<span>

"I don't wanna close my eyes, I don't wanna-AHHH!" The singing was interrupted by a high pitched scream. Downstairs, standing by a kitchen sink, twisting the taps, were two redheads. One had his red hair tied into a short ponytail, his neon green eyes glinting with mirth. The other had the same vibrant shade of shocking red hair but with turquoise coloured eyes and his hair was slightly shorter. Both boys had two scars on each cheek almost vertical but not quite.

"YOU BASTARDS! STOP PLAYING WITH THE TAPS!" an angry male voice yelled from the showers.

"Naruto! Watch your language!" a man with brown hair and warm brown eyes yelled through the door. A scar adorned his nose, making him resemble a dolphin. It didn't help that his name was the one of Umino Iruka.

"Boys! Stop playing with the taps!" he scolded. The boys flinched, twisting the tap once more before running off just as a girl with light brown hair pulled into a ponytail and wearing glasses over her green eyes walked around the corner holding a stack of papers. A crash was heard before the sight of cascading papers filled everyone's eyes. After that had happened, a blond with blue eyes, three whisker markings on each cheeks known as Naruto, wrapped only in a towel, ran down the stairs.

"What the Hell do you think you're playing a-ahhh!" he yelled as he slipped and landed on top of the redhead with neon green eyes.

"Naruto, get your fat ass off of me!" he ground out.

"Shut up Kaoru, this is all your fault!" he mumbled as he tried to get up and slipped due to the soap bubbles around his feet. The boy, known as Kaoru, glared at the blond before trying to punch him; the key word being 'tried'. He tried to move but found he had his hand trapped under something. He turned his glare to see what was stopping him from hitting the blond sixteen year old. Lying on his arm was the girl he had run into, apparently sleeping. The boy's twin burst out laughing at his brother's predicament before a glare from the green eyed girl was latched onto him.

"Shut it Kamari!" she ground out, sitting up and rubbing her head. Iruka rushed over to the sixteen year olds who were all still on the floor; Naruto only in his towel. Just as he was about to help everyone up, a group of children ran past, knocking the man over. Following after them was another boy about the teens' age, carrying a sketchbook. He raised a perfectly plucked raven eyebrow as he eyed Naruto in the towel. His black hair was swept up slightly, indicating he'd just woken up. Dark eyes glinted with amusement.

"Wow, so you're _not_ dickless! Now I owe Shikamaru £10." He complained before moving on. Naruto flushed an amusing shade of red whilst everyone but the man laughed.

"He's not kidding," came a bored voice from the living room. This made the group laugh harder and Naruto to flush more. Pulling his towel tighter around his waist, the blond stalked out of the kitchen and into his bedroom.

At Konoha Orphanage, there weren't many residents. There was Naruto who had been brought in 15 years ago on 10th October, his first birthday. The only reason Iruka knew that it was his first birthday was because of the cake and presents that adorned the table when he had found the infant. Kamari and Kaoru were brought in a few days after Naruto along Cassie-Gee; the brunette with the glasses. After that came Sai, Shikamaru, Chouji and Gary. The new additions from a few days ago were the group of small children: Sarutobi Konohamaru, Kimo Udon and Demigawa Moegi.

The blond entered his room, sighing whilst rubbing his face. He chucked on a black short sleeved T-shirt and a pair of orange cargo pants. To be honest he was totally exhausted. He'd been having nightmares last night of the most recent event on the news. It really shouldn't have been a surprise if he was completely honest with himself. Five children were murdered when they were out past curfew a few nights ago. Running a hand down his face, Naruto collapsed onto his bed and closed his eyes. The world was really messed up and he wished it was back to the way he heard in the stories that Iruka had told him as an infant. Peaceful, clean and fair. The world now though; it was disgusting, crime was at an all-time high and nothing seemed to be getting done. Children were murdered in the streets, people mugged in their homes. All in all, it was a terrible life for the current generation to be growing up in.

"He will do one of two things hmmm mmm hmm," humming reached Naruto's ears and he stayed on his bed when the door opened and in came a boy with a mop of brown hair and dark green eyes. He was wearing three-quarter lengths and a forest green hoodie.

"Hey Gary, what's up?" Naruto asked, still lazing on his bed with his arm thrown over his eyes. Gary smirked and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Not the sky. It says on the news it's falling," he said in a somewhat amused voice. Naruto snorted and sat up, facing the brunette.

"So what is going on in the news?" Naruto asked anxiously. Gary sighed and threw Naruto a worried glance before sighing once more.

"A woman and her child were found dead." He answered in a monotone voice. The grinding of teeth could be heard over the singing of Cassie-Gee on SingStar on the PlayStation.

"Naruto, this is getting out of hand. Maybe you should stop che-" Gary's sentence was interrupted with a snort.

"I'm never going to stop looking. Someone needs to stand up to that jerk Orochimaru and show him that we're not a bunch of push-overs!" Naruto growled. A knock on the door brought the boys' attention away from the matter at hand.

"Yeah?" Gary asked. The handle was pulled down and a small girl with her orange hair in bunches peered around the door.

"Naru-Aniki?" she asked shyly. A small smile graced the lips of the blonde as he looked at the girl.

"Yes Moegi-chan?" he asked. The girl swallowed and shuffled her feet slightly. Gary looked on with a confused look on his face. He finally caught on and realised that Moegi wanted to talk to Naruto alone. Smiling slightly, he mumbled something about leaving something downstairs before swiftly exiting the room. When the older boy was out of sight, Moegi burst into tears and dived onto the blonde's lap. Surprised by this sudden gesture, Naruto held Moegi by her shoulders and sat her down on the bed.

"What's wrong Moegi-chan?" Naruto asked her gently. The little girl sniffed and wiped her nose on the back of her hand before looking into cerulean blue.

"I-I found I had a sister," she explained. Naruto was shocked and grinned.

"But that's good news!" he tried to convince but he couldn't help the feeling of dread that swept across his stomach. Moegi shook her head side to side, denying it.

"Sh-she was one of the children out past curfew!" she sobbed, burying her head into Naruto's chest. Unaware of what he was doing, Naruto stood up and coaxed Moegi downstairs to Iruka. The brunette male swept her away for some hot chocolate, unaware of the dark look in the blonde's eyes. Singing was coming from the lounge and Naruto set his destination to there.

"But I stayed up with you all-" Kamari was cut out as Naruto pulled the plug on the electrics. Everyone turned to face him. Even Shikamaru knew something was wrong and actually bothered to turn around.

"What's wrong Naruto?" Kaoru asked, approaching his friend and placing a hand on his shoulder. Neon green eyes widened as he felt how much they were shaking.

"Kam!" he called for his twin who was there in a heartbeat and trying to calm the blond down. The tension in the room was suffocating but eventually it simmered down along with Naruto's anger. He looked up to everyone who was in the room. Shino, Shikamaru, Sai, Chouji, Gary, Cassie-Gee, Kaoru and Kamari; they were the only ones he needed. The others were too young for this. Taking a deep breath, he told them what was on his mind.

"Guys, I want to rebel. I want to make an organization to fight against Orochimaru. Who's with me?"

* * *

><p>Onyx eyes studied their surroundings, making sure that no-one was following the owner of them. Looking across to the raven haired man opposite him with his hair tied into a low ponytail, he gave him the thumbs up. Nodding in understanding, the man stood up and walked around the corner.<p>

"Hey- what are you-" the rest of the sentence was cut off by two silenced gunshots. The boy smirked and stood next to his taller companion. He brushed his raven bangs away from his face looking down at the scene before him. Two men in Orochimaru's Army uniform lay dead on the floor, puddles of blood slowly forming.

"Hn, nice work Aniki!" The young boy praised. The older just snorted.

"Thank-you oh mighty Sasuke-sama! Your praise has me drooling at your feet!" he replied sarcastically, a grin forming on his face, stretching the two stress lines that ran down it. The boy, Sasuke frowned at his older brother.

"It serves them right for killing those kids, doesn't it Itachi?" he asked, unsure of what his brother had done was right or not. Itachi sighed and placed his hand in the duckbutt styled hair, mussing it up.

"Sasuke, in this world there are only two things to remember. One; only trust family, and two; never let your guard down-" He fired a shot over Sasuke's shoulder, making the boy jump.

"It could be the death of you," he whispered, ruffling his hair once more. Sasuke nodded looking over his shoulder to see another dead man on the floor, a bullet hole through his head.

"Trust you, don't let my guard down." He repeated over and over again. Sasuke frowned, whatever happened to 'Keep your friends close and your enemies closer'? Sighing once more, Sasuke trailed after his older brother, trying to ignore the voice at the back of his head to tell him to trust no-one.

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><p><strong>As I said, this is a Prologue teaser chapter as I can't actually upload more of the story until next year due to exams, homework and the finishing of other stories. **

**Don't forget to review and one last time: Gary is owned by Fullmetal Gary and Kaoru and Kamari are owned by Juura99**


	2. Chapter 1

**Fighting Darkness**

**By xCastielsGirlx**

**Author's Note: **Yay! I'm so cool, I've actually managed to sort my life out so you get an update of this once every three weeks! That's much better than waiting a whole year, ne? Oh! Don't forget to check out the sidefics to this :) There's usually one after every chapter update unless I'm not in the mood. Currently, I'm not in the mood because I just pulled an all nighter trying to get out a story chapter to have no-one review on it. So, without further adieu, here's the next chapter!

**Warnings: **shonen-ai (SasuNaru), OCs, violence, gore, swearing, death, mentions of drug use

**Rating: **T

**Full Summary: **It's the year 2014; the World is in a post-apocalyptic state because of its ruler that took over 15 years ago. Two survived the tragedy that became known as the Uchiha Massacre; Uchiha Itachi and Sasuke. Sasuke was only an infant, Itachi 8 years old. Uzumaki Naruto was the only survivor of the Namikaze Massacre, sent to an orphanage whilst the other two were never seen again. It's all coming together now though. As the World tilts on the edge of existence, it's up to the Freedom Fighters to save it. So, who's willing to stop the Apocalypse?

**Dedications: **I, xCastielsGirlx, dedicate this FanFiction to the following Authors: Juura99, Fullmetal Gary, Visualxx and Raven.

**Disclaimer:**

**Kaoru: **Well, we all know the drill!

**Me:** Yeah, it's so sad. I only own Cassie. All Naruto characters belong to Misashi Kishimoto. Kaoru, Kamari and Juura belong to Juura99 and Gary belongs to Fullmetal Gary.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

Nervously, almost timidly, Naruto glanced around to his fellow peers to see their reaction.

"So, what do you say?" he asked, fiddling with his hands. Sai just smirked.

"Looks like you aren't so dickless after all. I'll join you." He smirked, shaking the blonde's hand in a professional manner. Ignoring the comment, Naruto turned to the rest of his friends. Kaoru and Kamari wore identical grins and so Naruto knew their answer. Gary sighed and shook his head.

"Just give me some chocolate. Someone needs to make sure your ass stays out of shit you can't handle!" he joked. Naruto snorted.

"I agree with Gary. There needs to be food!" Chouji supplied. Enthusiastically nodding, Naruto agreed.

"You're so troublesome Naruto but I have to admit, Orochimaru is even more so, so I'll assist you." came the tired voice of Shikamaru as he settled down deeper into the sofa. Shino just nodded.

"You've all gone mad!" Naruto jumped at the yell that came from the other end of the room. Cassie was pointing at them accusingly. She looked a mixture of anger and fear. Startled, Naruto tried to calm her down.

"Cassie, it's just-"

His sentence remained unfinished as a hand crossed his face.

"You _idiot_! Why didn't you suggest this sooner?" she grinned. Confusion descended upon Naruto. Really, girls were beyond him.

"Well, uh, this is great!" he murmured, rubbing his smarting cheek.

"Okay, so we need a name for our group. What should we call ourselves?" he asked everyone. They fell silent in thought for a few moments before Kamari clicked his fingers.

"Freedom Fighters'. It's what we do y'know and we can shorten it to FF so that if anyone asks, we can say we're talking about FanFiction!" he told everyone. There was a murmur of agreement before Naruto grinned, putting the sun to shame.

"Great! Well, welcome Freedom Fighters!" This statement was followed by a scattering of applause.

Orochimaru wouldn't know what hit him.

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><p>"C'mon Sasuke, you can do this," a voice mumbled softly as the owner took in the view of the sixteen year old boy currently holding a hidden blade. Raven duck-butt hair stood out against the white backdrop of the hospital walls as the boy walked further down the hall.<p>

"Excuse sir, you're not allowed down-" the man's warning was stopped short as the hidden blade was pressed to his throat.

"Whoa dude, my wallet's in my pocket just don't hurt me, un!" he panicked, trying not to do anything that would apparently upset the boy. Frowning, Sasuke withdrew the blade and could visibly see the relief flooding the dusty blue eyes of the doctor. He only looked to be about twenty-three. Satisfied that the man wasn't a danger, Sasuke turned on his heel and continued down the hall to his destination. The doctor was stood in a trance, fiddling with his long blonde fringe that covered his left eye as he watched the teen go before seemingly snapping out of it to go follow the boy. Sasuke stopped in his tracks.

"What are you doing?' he mumbled. The doctor swallowed.

"I-I- You need permission to go down these halls. This way if you're caught, a life won't need to be wasted as I can give you an alibi, un," the blonde doctor told the raven. Sasuke frowned.

"How can I trust you?" he asked, cautious of the doctor who was willingly helping him break into a hospital to steal some high class drugs. The man hesitated.

"You can't. You'll just have to take my word for it. So, do we have a truce, un?" he asked, grinning nervously, extending his hand in agreement. Reluctantly, Sasuke shook it. Itachi groaned.

"Foolish little brother! You can't trust him!" he whispered as he followed his brother further into the hospital.

"So what's your name, un?" the cheerful doctor asked, lacing his hands together and placing them behind his back. Sasuke shot the man a glare.

"Why should I tell you?" he snapped. The doctor chuckled slightly.

"Good point. I'll tell you mine though. It's Deidara Okamoto, un." He smiled at the younger boy as they turned down another corridor. Sighing, Sasuke turned to the man.

"My brother's most probably going to kill me anyway so I guess I'll tell you mine. It's Uchiha Sasuke." He explained, putting his last name before the first unlike the grown man had done. Deidara stopped in his tracks with the expression similar to that of a goldfish on his face.

"N-no way! T-_The_ Uchiha Sasuke!" he whispered in awe. Sasuke turned his face away and continued to look through the doors for the correct one.

"Awesome! You so have to tell me what happened back then, un! I mean there'd been so many ru-"

"Shut up." Sasuke interrupted. Deidara looked taken aback.

"Dude, I'm sorry but I-" he was interrupted once more by Sasuke slamming into a wall into an alcove.

"Shut up!" he hissed. Angry replaced offended.

"Now look here-" a hand covered the mouth of the blonde, blocking out all noise from him.

"Deidara? Is that you?" A voice called down the hallway. Angry onyx turned to look into frightened but hopeful blue.

"Did you rat me out?" Sasuke whisper shouted. Blonde locks shook from side to side and Sasuke's hand itched towards the blade in his back pocket. The footsteps were getting closer, quicker.

"Deidara? Hey! Deidara?" the voice started to sound panicked and the knife was now pressed against the blonde's throat.

"Damn it you art loving nuisance! We need to get out of here before Orochimaru gets back and asks for the drug!" the voice snapped. Three pairs of eyes widened simultaneously; two pairs of onyx and one blue. As the footsteps were just about to pass where the two were hiding, Sasuke grabbed the other doctor by the sleeve and shoved him next to the taller blonde one. The redhead looked shocked for a moment and even more so when a knife was pressed to his throat.

"Hey, how's it going Sasori-danna?" Deidara asked, trying to lighten the mood. Confused eyes glanced form the blonde to the redhead.

"What's going on Deidara?" Sasori asked the blonde. Deidara was about to answer when Sasuke shot him a glare.

"Nothing much Saso-danna," he laughed nervously. Chocolate brown eyes narrowed as he took in the appearance of Deidara. His glare then shot towards Sasuke.

"I swear to God that if you've harmed him, you'll be dead before you know it!" he growled. Deidara chuckled.

"Aww, thanks, un!" he smiled. Shaking his head in disbelief, Sasuke then pulled the blade away from Sasori's throat and allowed the shorter male to examine his friend. After all was checked, with many blushes and much stuttering from Deidara, the three set off down the hall in search of the drug room. Eventually, after the two males had reached their third heated discussion on what art was, they found the room. Sasuke held his hand up to silence the two and they stopped bickering.

"I only need one vial. You!" He pulled a pistol from his hip holster and pointed it at Deidara's head.

"Y-yes, un?" he asked shakily. A gun pointed at his person, in Deidara's opinion, was much worse than a sword or blade.

"Go in and get me a vial. You screw up, I blow his brains out!" he ordered, turning the weapon so that it pointed directly between Sasori's widened eyes. Going pale at the thought of losing his friend, Deidara complied, entering the darkened room. Had he not had a gun being forced in his face, Sasori would've chuckled at the muffled bangs coming from inside the room. Deidara was so clumsy sometimes.

"Ouch! Who put that there, un?" he complained loudly. Sasuke rolled his eyes and checked his watch. The setting of the hammer could be heard from inside the dark room.

"Saso-danna!" Deidara cried out in fear.

"Hurry up then his brains won't be decorating the wall!" Sasuke threatened. Deidara hurried around before finally spotting a little glass vial. Sighing in relief, he ran forward and grabbed it. Exiting through the door in which he came, he then gave Sasuke the glass vial.

"You sure this is it?" he asked threateningly. Deidara nodded. Sasuke smirked.

"Good. Now to thank you two for your patronage, I will spare your lives and call on you later, should I need more help." And with that, he ran up to the nearest window, slid it open and dived out. Deidara and Sasori watched in shock before the redhead grabbed the blonde and ran out of the emergency exit, away from the coming footsteps.

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><p>Blonde tresses swayed in the wind, dampening with the drizzle. A nod signalled the next phase of the plan. It was a hard job but it had to be done by someone. Who else better than the freedom fighters?<p>

**Two hours Earlier...**

The group sat around the table in Konoha Orphanage. Naruto twirled a lock of his hair around his index finger and looked over the sheets of paper once more.

"When everything feels like the movies hmm mmm hmm," Kamari was humming a tune as he re-read the map of the designated area. When Naruto had said they were going up against Orochimaru, he'd meant it. Not ten minutes after establishing the group, they had formed a plan of how to get their own back from a recent event in the news. A local hospital had been testing a new drug. What they left out was the fact that they had kidnapped a child to do so. Kaoru was reading up on the underground passages leading towards the hospital. Shikamaru was dozing in the corner, Chouji eating a packet of crisps whilst going over the plan just to refresh his memory, Cassie and Gary were in a heated discussion about what the best type of escape plan would be should the worst case scenario arise, Sai was rechecking their equipment and Shino...well, he was just being Shino. When it got to 9pm, Iruka ushered everyone to bed. Goodnights were said all around and the social worker went to bed not suspecting a thing.

As soon as the all clear was given, everyone jumped out of their beds, speedily changed and snuck out of the house. That's how they arrived at their current situation...

**Now...**

Kaoru nodded to Kamari who in turn nodded to Gary. Standing up, he confidently strutted into the hospital. The plan so far was going brilliantly. All that was left was for them to do after Gary entered through those doors was for them to find the doctors responsible and teach them a lesson. In all honesty, the knives were well hidden and you could only see them if you looked in all the right places.

White walls temporarily blinded the brunette as he walked up to the receptionist. She ignored him as he slipped past, just continuing to type on her laptop. Gary blinked. That'd been easy. Taking off at a steady pace, Gary made his way down the hall, passing by a sprinting redhead and blonde.

"That was scary Saso-danna!" He heard the blonde tell the redhead, who just nodded in reply. Not thinking much of it, Gary continued down the whit halls when he came across a metal door, locked with thick iron chains. He clicked his collar, activating the small microphones Shikamaru had modified for the group.

"Naruto?"

'Yeah?' a voice replied.

"I'm going in," There was no reply so Gary took it as an okay. He had picked the lock within a matter of seconds and stared at the door with baited breath. Slowly, he opened the door. It was dark, almost black; the only thing stopping it from being so were the flickering fluorescent tubes on the ceiling. A cough to his left startled the boy. Turning his head, he caught a glimpse of what had made the noise. Green eyes widened as he saw the horror before him.

"H- Help me," a strained whisper called out. Sea foam green locked with dark green, pleading undermined in the fear. Without much hesitance, Gary rushed forward to see the girl who was wrapped up in chains. Blood was dried at the corner of her mouth as she struggled to stay awake.

"J-just hold on. I'll get you outta here!" he comforted, gently laying a hand on her bare arm. Using his lock-picking skills once more, he freed her of the chains.

"Are you the only one here?" he asked. The girl nodded, pink hair falling over her shoulders. She was wearing a tattered white blouse and had a crumpled black pleated skirt on.

"What's your name?" he asked gently, checking around the corner after he exited the room. A hand was around the teen's waist in support as she limped.

"Sakura Haruno," she replied weakly. Gary smiled bitterly.

"Well Sakura, I'm sorry for this and everything but I'm afraid we can't just waltz out of the front door. I have a few friends waiting outside and we can bring you back to the orphanage. Is that okay with you?" he asked gently, leading her towards the emergency exit. She nodded, casting her eyes down.

"Can I see my parents after?" she asked. Gary stopped trying to deactivate the door alarm and looked to the girl with a small smile.

"Sure thing," he replied. Finally managing to disarm the alarm, he stepped into the cool night. Sakura shivered and so Gary pulled his hoodie from over his head and gave it to her. It was too big for her but she smiled appreciatively at him. They made their way down the wet and slippery stairs and turned a corner, Gary expecting to see the group looking proud. What he did not expect to see was his group tied to one another, apart from Naruto who was currently being held to the wall and choked by a man with a dark ponytail.

**5 Minutes Earlier...**

'I'm going in!'

After that sentence was uttered, Naruto drew out a sigh of relief. He turned to Kamari and Kaoru who had accompanied him to his area. Everyone else was further back, keeping an eye out. He grinned at the two and they grinned back before breaking into idle chatter. A presence behind the blonde appeared and he turned around to see a shocked teenager his age with duck-butt hair.

"AHHH!" he yelled in the boys face. Black bangs fluttered with the force of the yell. Sudden movement alerted Naruto to the fact another had just joined them.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked as the older boy with a black ponytail grabbed Kaoru and Kamari, before tying them to the rest of the group. The duck-butt boy smirked.

"Why should we trust you?" he asked. Naruto twitched. He'd had it already. Had it with the lies, the pain, the untrustworthiness. His eyes darkened and he pounced on the dark haired boy, landing a hit at the same time.

"Sasuke!" came the worried voice of the teen's counterpart. So the boy's name was Sasuke eh? All sense of solidness vanished from beneath the blonde as he was lifted into the air and slammed against the wall, winding him. A shaking hand brought itself around the blonde's throat, squeezing.

"Ah-ow," Naruto whispered, kicking against air.

"Don't touch my brother," the elder snarled.

"Naruto-kun!" Cassie's voice was full of fear as she watched the blonde being pushed harder against the wall, the fingers tightening so that she knew there would be a bruise in the morning...if he ever got to see it that was. Darkness was creeping upon Naruto and the last thought through his head was about he had failed.

"Naruto! What the hell are you doing to him?" Ah, that was Gary.

"Itachi, stop it! He's going purple!" The boy known as Sasuke yelled. Air came rushing back into his abused lungs and he collapsed to the floor, panting.

"Aniki, let them go. They were rescuing this girl!" Sasuke told his older brother, pointing to a shivering Sakura. Gary had rushed over to Naruto, checking if he was okay.

"Dude, are you okay?" he asked. Naruto coughed a few times before nodding and rubbing his throat. Itachi had seemingly calmed down and released the others from the ropes that were binding them. Everyone ran over to Naruto to check if he was okay.

"Guys," he chuckled weakly, "I'm fine, don't worry!" he soothed. Sakura looked fearfully at Itachi and Sasuke before walking over to Gary's side.

"Hn, he shouldn't have hit you little brother." Itachi scolded. Sasuke sighed and looked towards the blonde who was surrounded by his friends. Now that he really looked, he could see the whisker markings on his cheeks and the fact that his eyes were a magnificent shade of blue. Sasuke couldn't help but blush as the blonde locked eyes with him. What was this? The blonde had just attacked him for crying out loud! Although he hated to admit it, Sasuke was kind of jealous of the fact the blonde was surrounded by friends and people he could trust. What would it feel like; to have someone other than his family to trust?

"Stop thinking so hard little brother," came a deep voice from his right. Sasuke glanced to where the voice had came from to see his older brother with his arms crossed across his chest.

"Hn. It's your fault. How was I supposed to know these hero-wannabes would come to the hospital on the same evening as us?"

"Excuse me? Did you just call us 'Hero-wannabes'?" came an angry voice from the crowd around the blonde. It was the boy with dark hair and pale skin. Sasuke's eye twitched. He kind of looked like him.

"So what if I did?" was his counter.

"It seems a bit rich coming from you! Although we actually bothered to help the person your drug was being tested on!" Chouji growled. Sasuke and Itachi blanched before looking to Sakura who was huddled up in Gary's jumper.

"You were being tested on?" Itachi asked harshly. Still shivering, she nodded. In an instant, Itachi had walked up to her, hands on her shoulder.

"You need to tell us anything you can about Orochimaru!" he ordered. Sakura shook slightly.

"I-I can't!" she stuttered. Itachi's eyes darkened.

"Why not?" he demanded. Tears filled the pinkette's eyes as she shook her head.

"No! I can't!" she cried. Itachi snapped, shaking her by her shoulders.

"TELL US DAMMIT! WE NEED THE INFORMATION!" he yelled. Tears started to pour relentlessly down her cheeks whilst he kept shaking. That was until a hand crossed his cheek. He stopped shaking to see the brunette with glasses standing above him and looking outraged.

"You son of a bitch! She's just been through a traumatic ordeal and you do this to her? What the fuck do you think this will accomplish huh?" she yelled, pulling the pinkette away from the raven. Itachi's eyes widened as he took in the group of teens before him. They looked haggard, damp slightly from the drizzling rain, but full of determination. A small smile came to his lips.

"Well Sasuke, looks like we've found some other people to trust," he told his younger brother. Onyx eyes widened as he took in the team before him. A smirk crossed his face as he looked on, eyes lingering on the tan blonde for just a second longer. Itachi smirked and leant down to his younger brother's ear.

"I'm guessing you've got dibs on the blonde," Sasuke flushed uncharacteristically and shoved his brother.

"Yeah, well try not to murder them in your sleep," he smirked as he walked up to the group. Naruto watched with apprehension as the raven approached.

"What do you want teme?" he asked as the two approached, the elder lagging behind a little.

"Dobe, we want to join you." He told Naruto as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Naruto blinked. Once. Twice.

"TEME! Don't call me dobe!" he yelled, pointing his index finger at his face. The raven just blinked at the offending appendage before smirking.

"Then stop acting like one, dobe." He smirked. Naruto growled.

"Why do you want to join us anyways?" Kaoru pushed in. Sasuke sent him a look of disdain before answering.

"Because we want Orochimaru dead. Isn't that what you want?" he asked incredulously. Naruto sighed before sticking out his hand.

"Fine. It's a deal!" he pouted. Sasuke smirked and grabbed the offered hand.

"Nice to be working with you, Dobe."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Do you know how long it took me to write this? TWO FUCKING DAYS! Yarp. And then when I went to update it, I <strong>_**still**_** had to edit it by adding another thousand words or so! So anyways my fluff bunnies, REVIEW! I deserve it after putting up with 45 minutes of annoying bitches looking over my shoulder!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Fighting Darkness**

**By xCastielsGirlx**

**Author's Note: **Haha! Another chapter! Isn't it wonderful? *sniffs happily* Ahh, the SasuNaru goodness shall become a tad more prominent in this one! Also, our favourite brunette now joins us in our adventure! Also, we have our long haired Hyuuga making an appearance! But that's a spoiler! Shh!

**Warnings: **shonen-ai (SasuNaru), OCs, violence, gore, swearing, death, mentions of drug use

**Rating: **T

**Full Summary: **It's the year 2014; the World is in a post-apocalyptic state because of its ruler that took over 15 years ago. Two survived the tragedy that became known as the Uchiha Massacre; Uchiha Itachi and Sasuke. Sasuke was only an infant, Itachi 8 years old. Uzumaki Naruto was the only survivor of the Namikaze Massacre, sent to an orphanage whilst the other two were never seen again. It's all coming together now though. As the World tilts on the edge of existence, it's up to the Freedom Fighters to save it. So, who's willing to stop the Apocalypse?

**Dedications: **I, xCastielsGirlx, dedicate this FanFiction to the following Authors: Juura99, Fullmetal Gary, Visualxx and Raven.

**Disclaimer:**

**Me: **Let's just get this over with already!

**Naruto: ***sigh* The Authoress owns nothing but Cassie. I belong to Sasuke, who in turn belongs to Kishimoto-sensei. Kao and Kam belong to Juura99 along with the lady herself and Fullmetal Gary owns Gary…and this chocolate bar I found in my room. You need to come and collect it before I eat it, dude.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

The slapping of shoes and concrete was all that was heard as three people ran down the street.

"C'mon Hinata! Just a little further!" came the gruff voice of a brunette with red tattoos on his cheeks. The girl, Hinata, was struggling to keep up; her heels making it increasingly difficult to run. Behind her was a relation- it had to be seeing as the person had the exact same eye colour as her.

"Just keep running Hinata and don't look back!" he yelled, pushing the girl forward slightly. Lavender eyes teared up as she slipped in a puddle and crashed to the ground.

"Hinata!" both boys yelled, stopping in their tracks to help her. She sobbed and clutched her ankle.

"Ah- K-Kiba-kun, N-Neji-kun!" she cried. Without a moment's hesitation, the tattooed brunette had swept up the purple haired girl in his arms and was now running alongside the other male.

"I swear to God that if you drop her Kiba, you're paying with your own goddamn life!" he yelled. The brunette, known as Kiba, smirked.

"I'd never let her fall!" he told the long haired brunette. The two rounded a corner to what looked like a dead end.

"Oh shit!" Kiba yelled. His counterpart- Neji- just rolled his eyes.

"Dumb mutt! I didn't lead us down here for a reason!" he scolded. Kiba turned to retort but was cut short when the voices that were chasing them became more legible.

"Around this way," Neji whispered, leading Kiba to a door he hadn't previously seen. They entered, Kiba carefully holding Hinata, to what seemed to be like a base where a group of rebel teenagers would hang out. _Oh wait,_ Kiba thought bitterly, _we are_. That thought but a smirk on the teen's face as he dropped the purple haired girl onto the sofa that was in the corner of the room. She smiled softly at him and he returned it. Neji looked as if he was floating around as he lit the oil lamps with his zippo lighter. Voices were heard from nearby and the trio held their breath, not making a sound until they had passed by. Kiba collapsed onto the other end of the sofa and rubbed his hand down his face.

"Dammit! Who would've thought that we'd get caught?" he sighed stressfully. Neji half-glared- he had wasted far too much energy- at Kiba.

"Well if you'd hidden the IP address like I'd told you, this wouldn't have happened!" he snapped.

Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata and Hyuuga Neji, were internet bloggers. They reported the news how it was, and not how the corrupt Government portrayed it. That particular evening had found them- as any normal Tuesday evening- blogging. Kiba was looking at his ratings for their previous entry. For a team of three, they had done quite well. They were in the top 20% of internet viewings- and that's including all the traffic for music downloads and porn. On that particular evening though, Kiba had forgotten to update his computer to hide the IP address. The result was them running from their shared apartment and ending up in this place here. 'This place here' being the den that Neji had formed with his friend Rock Lee when he was small.

Hinata was nursing her swollen ankle whilst Kiba popped open a can of Pepsi Max which he had snagged from the working mini-fridge in the corner. Neji had gone into the bathroom to collect the first aid kit. Still muttering about 'Dumb mutts', Neji approached his cousin carefully and held her ankle with ease.

"It's okay," he whispered after she whimpered.

"It's just swollen. Nothing a bandage and some good rest can't fix," he soothed. Hinata nodded, and bit her bottom lip. Kiba turned to her.

"Everything will be okay Hinata, I promise!" With that grin, who couldn't believe him?

* * *

><p>To say Iruka was shocked when two extra people turned up outside his orphanage- as well as the residents themselves-at gone midnight would be an understatement. He was also extremely furious.<p>

"Honestly! You have no regard for Laws! Let alone rules!" He yelled, making the group of teens flinch.

"You could've been killed! All of you!" he yelled louder, oblivious to the two brothers that- even though they weren't part of the orphanage- were still being lectured. Sakura had been given a hot chocolate, a spare pair of pyjamas and a bed for the night before the man had started yelling. Tsunade- a woman with long blonde hair pulled into pigtails, dusty brown eyes and quite a large chest- was shaking her head disapprovingly at the group whilst Shizune- her dark haired assistant with short hair- fretted over what would happen next. Iruka had never lost his temper before. At least, not this bad. Frustrated tears made their way to chocolate brown as the man continued to yell.

"Have you any idea how worried I was when I couldn't find you?" he yelled. Naruto shifted his feet guiltily.

"We're sorry 'Ruka-sensei," he whispered. Raised voices were halted at the tone of the blonde. Sasuke glanced to him as well; confused as to why the man named Iruka would suddenly stop yelling at that tone of voice the blonde had pulled. All became apparent when liquid splashed onto the floor beneath the blonde. Shikamaru sighed and placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder. Tsunade looked around awkwardly whilst Iruka engulfed the boy in a hug before grabbing the other residents.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again!" he whispered. An awkward cough from Itachi made the group break away and for Iruka to stare at his two new counterparts.

"Who might you be?" Iruka asked kindly, sitting them all down at the table with a mug of hot chocolate. Iruka looked into the eyes of the man before him, seeing no hint of distrust in them.

"My name is Uchiha Itachi and this is my baby brother Sasuke." He told the man. Unlike Deidara, Iruka didn't start to ask questions, but just nodded. Gary stopped dunking his chocolate bar in his drink and turned to the siblings.

"Whoa! As in-"

"Yes, as in the last survivors of the Uchiha clan." Sasuke snapped coldly at the brunette. Gary just shrugged and went back to his chocolate. Kaoru- who had been sitting quietly the whole time- suddenly burst out laughing.

"Nice joke there. Eh Kam?" he snorted, nudging his twin. Kamari just strained a smile.

"I don't think he's joking Kao," he whispered back, cradling his hot chocolate. Kaoru stared wide-eyed at his twin.

"Dude, what's happened to you? Usually you'd laugh with me!" Kaoru complained. Kamari just yawned and leant his head on his older brother's shoulder.

"I'm just tired is all," he yawned. Kaoru's eyes softened as his brother's closed. Iruka watched the boys before turning back to Sasuke and Itachi.

"So what brings you here?" he asked as Tsunade and Shizune sat down either side of him; Tsunade with a bottle of saké and Shizune with a strong black coffee. Itachi sighed and rubbed his temples.

"Your little rascals here have formed a rebellion group and we want to assist them. Well, more they'll be helping us." Itachi explained what had happened at the hospital and throughout the whole tale, the three adults had remained silent. As Tuesday evening turned into Wednesday morning, Iruka was both physically and mentally exhausted. By this time, Sasuke had been shown to the spare bed in Naruto's room- much to the blonde's dismay- whilst everyone else was asleep. The light dusting of pink in the sky alerted everyone who was unlucky enough to be awake of the fact that it was dawn.

"I'm sorry but the deal must be withdrawn. I can't have these children doing something so reckless!" he sighed, rubbing his temples. Itachi sighed with him.

"I'm sorry too Iruka-san but I must press you on allowing at least Naruto-kun to help us." He told the man. Iruka paled.

"Why would you say that?" he asked. Itachi sighed once more, rubbing his eyes due to tiredness.

"On the night of our clan's murder, Naruto's parents were also murdered. The Namikazes and Uzumakis were best friends with my parents. That was the only reason they were killed. This is why I must press that at least Naruto-kun joins us. He is an important part to the future of this world. Although, I'm figuring that since this was a group effort and completely voluntary, the others will deem it unfair that just Naruto-kun joins us and I doubt he will join us if his friends are not present." Itachi explained. Chocolate brown eyes were wide and a hand placed over the mouth.

"Naruto's parents? B-but I just can't let him!" Iruka protested, tears coming to his eyes.

"Who'll look after him? What if something bad happens?" he worried. A hand was placed over the brunette's and he looked up to see the silver haired man who had arrived sometime during the evening after everyone had gone to bed. He had his right eye covered by a patch and was wearing a muffler. His name was Hatake Kakashi, Itachi and Sasuke's guardian.

"Don't worry Iruka-san. I won't let anything hurt Naruto-kun. If you don't believe me, you could always sign up yourself," he offered. Iruka internally debated what to do before finally giving in.

"All right, I'll join you. But if anything hurts these children, I'll hold you 150% responsible. Understood?" he warned. Itachi and Kakashi nodded before Iruka sighed once again.

"Now I don't know about you, but I for one am exhausted. There's a spare room just down the hall, third door on the right. I'm sure there are some spare pyjamas in the draws," he explained before standing up and leaving the room and going to bed. Itachi looked to Kakashi.

"Well, that went smoothly, I think." He smiled. Kakashi smiled back before standing out of his chair.

"What if the world was out of trouble hmmm mmm hmm," Both heads snapped simultaneously to the kitchen entrance where the brunette with glasses was wrapped in her extremely fluffy dressing gown, carrying a little orange book and humming a song. She stopped her humming and turned to the silver haired man.

"Who the Hell are you?" she asked, shocked at the sudden appearance. Kakashi scratched the back of his neck before chuckling.

"I'm Hatake Kakashi, Sasuke… and… Itachi's… guardian." He finished, slowing down as he noticed the book in the girl's hand.

"Hey!" she yelled as Kakashi had expertly snatched the book from her hand.

"It's the new one!" he giggled excitedly. Itachi rolled his eyes.

"Pervert. I'm going to bed," he told the man. He distractedly nodded whilst skimming through the pages whilst the girl pulled out the fruit juice.

"How much do you want for it?" he asked seriously, looking up at the girl who was pouring herself and two other people a glass of tropical juice. Placing the drinks and the large packet of cereal bars on her tray along with the huge juice carton, she turned to face the man with the patch.

"For you?£60." She stated, crossing her arms. Kakashi blanched then grinned.

"You're funny. Seriously, how much?" he asked again. Cassie walked over to him and snatched the book out of his hand.

"Either you pay £60, or £10 per two minutes for rent." She bartered. Kakashi grumbled, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket before going to hand over three £20 notes.

"Uh-uh. I want it in tens and fives!" she told him. An incredulous look crossed over his face.

"Why?" he whined. Cassie smirked.

"Because then it looks like I have more!" she said as if it was the most simple thing in the world. Kakashi sighed and handed over the money once more. Cassie smiled, pocketing the money in her pocket before grabbing the tray and heading upstairs.

* * *

><p>The first thing that crossed Sasuke's mind when he woke up was thathe wasn't in his bed, let alone his room. Cautiously, he opened his eyes and was attacked by bright light. Somehow during the night, the wooden blinds in front of the high window had been opened. Shielding his eyes from the burning sun, he glanced around the room he was currently taking residence in to see that on one bed was a snoring brunette, his arm hanging over the edge of his bed. On the other bed, beneath the window, was the blonde dobe. Sunlight kissed the delicate features of his face, making his blonde hair glow. The breathing of the boy was deep and even, indicating a restful sleep. All of a sudden, he turned on his side, causing his hair to fall across his face as it was now in plain view of the Uchiha. The soft earthy glow from the room complimented the tan of the blonde, making it seem like he was meant to be there. A loud snore broke the moment and Sasuke felt the need to scowl at the brunette who had changed positions so that his arm was slung across his face, the other on his stomach, making his top ride up. Sasuke smirked. The teen would get a cold if he kept sleeping like that. The sound of a door handle being pulled down alerted the Uchiha to the fact that someone was entering his room. It was Cassie. The tray and juice had been liberated from her hands but she clutched three cereal bars in her hand, an evil smirk on her lips. Before he had time to figure out what was going on, something painful collided with the side of his head and judging by the snorts that came from Gary and the pained cry from Naruto as he fell off his bed, they had received the same treatment.<p>

"GOOD MORNING! RISE AND SHINE LADIES! THE DAY IS YOUTHFUL AND ONLY JUST BEGINNING!" was the yell that accompanied the flying cereal bars. Sasuke growled, sitting up, glaring at the girl. Naruto groaned along with Gary.

"Cassie! We don't have to go to school anymore! Why do you insist on waking us up like that?" Gary complained. All other words fell deaf to Sasuke's ears as he took in the sight of the blonde. Dishevelled blonde hair and wrinkled pyjamas greeted him as Naruto sat up, rubbing the spot on his whiskered cheek where the cereal bar had struck. The top button of his pyjama shirt was undone, giving the Uchiha a sneak peek at his chest which- he had to admit- looked pretty good. Without him even realising, Cassie had left the room and soon it was just the boys.

"Teme? What are you staring at?" Naruto asked uncomfortably as he shifted on his bed. Onyx eyes slowly looked up to meet cerulean blue which looked away shyly when onyx met them. Gary coughed awkwardly before standing up and making his way to the adjoined bathroom. The sound of the shower starting up drowned out the silence, especially when the boy started singing.

"Well I wish it could be Christmas every day!" Naruto snorted.

"It's not Christmas yet!" he yelled in the direction of the bathroom.

"Don't care! It's only a month away!" Gary yelled back. Sasuke's eyes widened at that and he glanced to the calendar that was hung in the boys' room. It was indeed the 25th November.

"Hn." Was his comment. Naruto jumped, seeming to have forgotten his extra company. He settled for ignoring the teen before jumping out of bed and walking down the hall. Unsatisfied by this, Sasuke decided to follow him.

"Teme, what are you doing?" Naruto slightly growled as the raven walked in step with him.

"Hn, just checking out the area with you," he replied shortly. Naruto pouted slightly before stopping outside a door with a sign saying 'Girls' Room'. Sasuke stopped with him and waited with baited breath as he saw the mischievous grin on the blonde's face. The clenching of the tan fist alerted Sasuke to the fact that Naruto was holding the offending cereal bar from earlier. Slowly, he turned the handle of the door before violently forcing it open.

"HAHA!" he yelled, throwing the bar at the lump of sheets. There was a snort as Kakashi sat up, wide eyed but still with his patch on.

"What the-" he yelled, before falling out of his bed. Sasuke paled along with Naruto.

"H-Holy crap!" he stuttered before looking at the door next to the one he had just entered. Cassie had put the 'Girls' Room' sign on the wrong door.

"Fuuuuck!" Naruto hissed as he saw the sleeping man grumble and hold the cereal bar. He looked up to the door where Naruto and Sasuke stood, looking horrified. As if by automatic response, they both pointed to the other with the classic yells of "He did it!" Before the two could comprehend anything, the cereal bar had been snapped in half, the two chunks being thrown at both of them.

"Now get out! I'm tired and I lost £60!" he grumbled sleepily. Sasuke just retreated with Naruto, gently closing the door. Naruto gulped.

"Who was that?" he asked. Sasuke smirked.

"My guardian Hatake Kakashi," he smirked before turning to the issue at hand. Cassie was snickering and leaning on the door frame. Twitching slightly, Naruto then grabbed the fallen half of bar from the floor before launching it at the girl. As if by some miracle, she dodged it, allowing the offending food to make a dent in the door frame. Sasuke tilted his head.

"What kind of cereal bars are they?" he asked in wonder. Cassie smirked.

"It's a secret!" she whispered before disappearing into her room. The blonde blinked twice before shrugging and continuing his way down to the kitchen with the raven following in his footsteps.

"Are you stalking me?" he asked as he came to a stop outside the kitchen door. Sasuke snorted.

"Why would anyone want to stalk you?" he asked, before pushing past the blonde and starting to look in the cupboards. Naruto huffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Y'know, you're an inconsiderate bastard," he told the raven before going to the cupboard that was currently open and pulling out a box of coco-pops.

"All you had to do was ask where the cereal was," he told him before pouring it into two bowls. Smirking, Sasuke went up to the fridge and pulled out the milk, unaware of the pair of eyes that were following the boy's every movement.

"So Sasuke, how long do you intend on staying?" Naruto asked, taking the milk form Sasuke and exchanging it with the cereal. Sasuke smirked once again and put the cereal back where it came from.

"Not much longer. We need to get back to our place. Last night was just a minor inconvenience." He told the blonde, unaware of the shock it had caused him.

"O-oh. Alright then." He replied, not making eye contact as he ate his cereal. Just as the silence was dancing between the line of too quiet and awkward, the kitchen door opened, making the boys jump.

"Yo, 'sup?" Kaoru asked, pulling out the box of cereal that had recently been put away. Naruto grinned at the redhead before moving so that he could sit next to him.

"Nothing much. We were just- HEY!" Naruto yelled as he saw Kaoru taking a swig of the milk out of the carton.

"If Iruka-sensei sees you doing that he'll-"

"If Iruka-sensei sees you doing what?" came a voice from the doorway. Kaoru choked on the milk and so Naruto started to thump him on the back. Sasuke snorted into his cereal at the look on Kaoru's face when he realised the brunette was standing in the doorway. Chuckling nervously, Kaoru wiped away his milk-moustache and placed the carton back.

"Sorry sensei," he apologised. Iruka just gave him a stern glare before turning to Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun, I'm afraid you have to stay another night as Itachi-san and Kakashi-san need to recuperate from staying up all night," he explained to the boy. Sasuke just nodded before turning to face the blonde who, oddly enough, looked much happier.

* * *

><p>Angry steps could be heard thundering down the hospital halls. Black hair swished from side to side, white medical coat billowed from behind the person currently stalking down the halls to the reception where in her place, sat the receptionist, typing away on her laptop and tucking a blonde bang behind her ear as it fell in her face.<p>

"What is it Lord Orochimaru?" she asked, hazel eyes swinging up to meet glowing yellow. A hiss escaped the throat of the tall black haired man before her.

"Where is the drug?" he hissed. She stared back impassively.

"Where it should be. In room 3B." She told him, before turning back to face her laptop screen once more. All of a sudden, her chair was spun around and she found her face within three inches of Orochimaru's own.

"Now listen here, _Juura,_ the drug has gone missing! As well as the child! I want you to scour every single inch of this place and find it! If it has indeed gone missing, you will pay dearly! Got it?" he snarled. The receptionist, Juura, stared impassively once more.

"Why don't you just check the security tapes, _Your majesty_," she drawled. Orochimaru stiffened at that before relaxing slightly. She sneered at him before spinning her office chair around and facing her laptop once more. Orochimaru stalked off, leaving the receptionist grinning as from within her bag, she took out a tape, and dropped it into the shredder beneath her desk.

"Serves you right, you snake bastard."

* * *

><p><strong>HAHA! Well, update change once again! I'm going to my niece's Christening next weekend and so the next update is not next week, but the week after. Then, once again, it's once every three weeks!<strong>

**So, once again, we have a chapter and now Juura's joined in XD F*CK YEAH! **

**Don't forget to reviee~w XD**


	4. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** Hah, yeah, no fancy entry at the beginning. Sucks huh? Well, anyways. So, after this chapter the updates go back to once every three weeks. Oh and, I have found religion :D So happy :) Anymahogany, without further adue, here is the next chapter of Fighting Darkness!

**Disclaimer:** Need I say anything? Hmm, the law actually states I have to! Darn. *Sigh* Juura, Kao and Kam belong to Juura99; Gary belongs to Fullmetal Gary where 'Naruto' characters belong to Kishimoto-sama-sensei-zombie-sempai! (Hah, Abridged quotes!)

**Warnings:** In this chapter? Well, swearing (as usual) boyxboy hints, OCs which by default results in DDR and SingStar- oh and violence which results in blood. Just to let you guys know that he humour is there for comic relief (just as Kakashi is in the episodes) and that in later chapters, the angst violence and more darker aspects will become more predominant.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

"Y'know, we really need to find more supporters!" Naruto exclaimed as everyone- minus the adults- sat in the front room together. Sasuke just 'Hn'ed as he stared out of the window and watched as the peach coloured clouds decided to release their load upon them.

"Shikamaru, what can you find on the internet?" Sai asked, looking over the shoulder of the spiky haired brunette. Shikamaru just sighed before seeming to find an article posted a few hours ago about the hospital break-in.

"Hey guys, this looks troublesome!" he told the teens gathered in the room. In an instant, everyone was by the brunette's side, looking over his shoulder. Kaoru and Kamari drew in a breath as they started to read the article.

_Not twelve hours ago, a group of brave people broke into one of Lord Orochimaru's top secret labs and rescued the child he was using to test his drugs on. Now, I'm no anarchist (who am I kidding, just by writing this we're breaking the law!) but what these people are doing is right! My friend Byakugan agrees along with Byakugan-hime. They said to me: _

"_Yo, Akumaru buddy, these people have balls!" I had to laugh at that. Although, I'm not laughing at the current predicament. I regret to inform you guys that earlier this morning, we were found out. I admit, it's my fault, I forgot to hide our IP address. Byakugan-hime's ankle is swollen pretty bad and we're currently away from danger. Byakugan themselves is quite strung up on this but I don't blame him._

_If by some chance the group of people who broke in and saved Haruno Sakura are reading this- and that's a big ass if- then we at Akumaru Jump support your decision and urge more people to be like this! Of course, we don't go and mean throw yourself to the dogs but that group obviously had it all planned out. I wouldn't surprise me if they didn't have inside help but from our sources, we can tell that all security footage was destroyed of that evening and boy is Orochimaru-kun PMSing!_

_Now, I must insist on going. Byakugan-hime is in need of my help but to that group out there, our prayers are with you and we can only stress at how much we will support you by giving our info. I'm sure you're smart enough to work this out to find us, even if our IP address is hidden. Remember, stay safe and keep your loved ones close!_

_Akumaru_

"Who's Akumaru?" Cassie asked as she sat back down on the sofa and turned on the silver original X-Box. Sasuke shot her an annoyed glance.

"If we knew that, they'd be dead for posting this and supporting us!" he snapped back. Cassie sneered at him before plugging in the dance mat.

"Jeez, what's stuck up your ass?" she asked.

"Maybe the cereal bar from this morning," Kaoru joked, earning a snort from Kamari. Sasuke turned his glare to them as Shino, Shikamaru and Sai pondered the message.

"That wasn't funny. Those cereal bars are killer!" Naruto grumbled.

"Are they cereal killers?" Sai asked with a smirk, looking up from the laptop. Everyone apart from Sasuke snorted into their hands at the joke. The raven's scowl just deepened as he bore it into his look-alike's eyes. He didn't like the fact that the pale-skinned imitation had a good relationship with the blonde already. Something just didn't sit right with him.

"Whatever. Now the main issue is how we're going to find these guys!" Naruto interrupted, stopping the two boys from melting the polar ice-caps with the intensity of their glares. Sasuke just folded his arms and withdrew his signature 'Hn' before turning back to the laptop, to which Shikamaru was already typing away at. A series of numbers flashed across the screen before a picture of a map popped up with a blinking red dot. Shikamaru smirked.

"Seeing as I just found them, I think I deserve a nap!" he said sweetly as returned to the comfy confines of the sofa in the room. Cassie giggled slightly before overtaking on the laptop and typing something in in what Sasuke could only presume to be binary. Cassie smirked as she typed in some more numbers, earning a shocked look from the people around her.

"This is what you get for taking triple science and A-level ICT at GCSE, along with further Maths." she smirked, her fingers flying across the keyboard. Her eyes widened though when it came to a stop.

"What the Hell!" she yelled, tapping away at the keyboard. Shino and Shikamaru walked up beside her, Shikamaru grumbling about troublesome computers as he did so. His eyes widened though as the whole screen went blue.

"SHIT!" Cassie yelled, practically jumping from her chair as white text scrolled across the screen.

_Kakashi?_ It asked. All eyes in the room swivelled to Sasuke at that one word. Growling, Naruto violently pushed Cassie out of the way to reply.

_No, this is Uzumaki Naruto. Kakashi is with us. Who the Hell are you?_ He replied violently. It was almost as if the word 'Uzumaki' had triggered a fuse in the writer as text came at an unstoppable speed.

_Get Kakashi right now! I don't care who you are and I don't care if he's asleep. GET HIM NOW!_ Blue eyes widened at the rudeness of the message before he glared to Sasuke.

"Teme, he's your guardian," he pointed out. Sasuke's eye twitched and he walked the funeral march to his guardian's bedroom. Sighing, he pushed the door open. He spotted the other half of the cereal bar from earlier and decided that this was a good a way as any. He clenched it in his hand tightly and threw it towards the bundle of sheets. A hand brought itself up and caught the cereal bar mid-flight.

"Are you asking for a death wish?" Kakashi grumbled, sitting up in his bed. Sasuke scowled.

"I'm sorry your highness, but we have a computer-hacking messenger asking for you," he sneered. Kakashi's visible grey eye widened and Sasuke swore that he'd never see his guardian move as quickly for anything else except the newest 'Icha Icha' for free. Rolling his eyes, the raven left the room after the silver-haired man and entered the living room to see everyone in a heated discussion about who Kakashi was talking to. Cassie and Kaoru were full out yelling, Naruto and Sai were discussing with Shikamaru whilst Shino listened with interest, not making much of an input along with Chouji who was eating from a packet of crisps, whilst Kamari and Gary had disappeared from the room altogether.

"It could be a really hot chick!" Kaoru supplied, winking. Cassie made a disgusted noise.

"Urgh, you're such a sexist pervert!" she ground out, glaring at the boy with red hair. Kaoru just smirked before turning to Kakashi.

"I bet it's a really hot chick!" he told the silver-haired man. Annoyance crossed Kakashi's features.

"She's five years older than you," he deadpanned. Kaoru's face blanked before he turned to Cassie.

"HAH! I told you it was a chick! I don't mind if she's older. More experience." He smirked perversely before a hit to his head made him scowl. Naruto stood there, grimace in place.

"You have no respect for women! It wouldn't surprise me if one day you were beaten up by one because of your comments," he snickered slightly over his scowl. Kakashi then smiled before exiting the room to go back to bed.

"Expect some visitors at 3 this afternoon. Three of them are the ones you tried to contact. It so happens that my contact knows them too," he smiled, walking off. Everyone's mouths fell open at that before Shikamaru turned his gaping mouth into a yawn.

"I'm following his idea," he replied before making his way over to the sofa to lie down.

"I wonder where Kam and Gary are?" Kaoru and Cassie wondered before walking out of the room. Chouji left for the kitchen, dragging Sai with him to make him a bacon sandwich. Shino walked outside to spy on his bug collection which left Naruto and Sasuke alone together. Naruto yawned and stretched, making Sasuke realise that he was still in a pair of borrowed pyjamas which belonged to Gary. Sasuke rolled his eyes and went to the room with the blonde on his trail.

"Are you stalking me, dobe?" he asked, suddenly stopping and making the blonde walk into him. Naruto cursed before looking up into the raven's face.

"Teme, why would anyone want to stalk you?" he asked, repeating the question from earlier. Sasuke smirked, leaning in to the blonde's personal space.

"Well, you're doing it, so why don't you tell me?" he whispered. Naruto growled and pounced on the raven haired boy, taking him by surprise. The two fell to the floor with Naruto pinning Sasuke down.

"Teme, I've had enough of your attitude!" he snarled, leaning in closer. Sasuke, unable to take being topped, flipped them over so he was hovering above Naruto.

"And I've had enough of your-" they never got to find out what Sasuke'd had enough of before Kamari and Gary came out of a room, hitting Sasuke's elbow with the door.

"As I said Gary, we should really-" Kamari was interrupted by himself as he saw the scene. Sasuke and Naruto were lying on the floor, mouths pressed to one another's. Gary and Kamari spluttered some incoherent noises and the two boys broke apart, blushing crimson.

"I'm so sorry guys!" Kamari squeaked, placing his hand over his eyes and tugging Gary down the hall who looked white. Sasuke and Naruto just stayed in their positions, apparently frozen, until Itachi walked down the corridor.

"My, my, little brother, at least wait until you're in the bedroom!" he smirked before walking past the two teens. Naruto had had it. He pushed Sasuke from on top of him and went to go hit Itachi. The elder just smirked and turned on the spot. When Naruto was in punching distance, he extended his fist; fingers curled...and flicked his forehead. Naruto fell onto his behind and just gazed up at Itachi in confusion. Itachi smiled softly.

"I went easy on you. Sasuke won't," he smirked after that and continued walking down the hall. Naruto whipped his head round to glare at the teen who had stood up and was brushing himself down. Only then did Naruto realise that they were still in their pyjamas. He sighed, standing up and walked to his room to get changed. He pulled his top off over his head and chucked it onto his bed. As he turned around to pull out a black t-shirt from his draws, he spotted the intruder in his room. A drawn out shriek was heard down the corridor in which Sasuke was walking down. As if on instinct, he ran to the blonde's room- briefly taking note of how Naruto looked without a shirt- before looking around for the cause of distress.

"SHINO!" Naruto yelled. Sasuke wondered why Naruto was yelling at Shino before he saw why. A huge spider with spindly legs and a fat body was crawling across Naruto's pillow. Sasuke raised an eyebrow as the blonde clung to him, still shirtless. He sighed and walked forward, grabbing a bedside cup and a piece of paper. He collected the harmless spider before opening the window and throwing it out. A brief spray of rain hit Sasuke's face, making it so that it looked like he had just been working out. Naruto swallowed at the image and 'meep'ed when Sasuke saw him looking. Blushing, he continued to get dressed without making eye contact. When the boys had gotten dressed (with many awkward silences) they walked down the stairs together and entered the living room. When they entered , they were met with wolf whistles from Cassie and strangely, Kaoru. Naruto growled at them.

"Guys! It was a complete accident!" he yelled, red in the face. The smile from Cassie's face disappeared and she just shrugged, challenging Kaoru to another round of Dance Dance Revolution. Naruto plonked himself down by Shikamaru's feet whilst Sasuke sat on the arm of the sofa by Shikamaru's head. One brown eye opened and he sighed.

"Guys, I can feel the tension from here. Can one of you please leave the room?" he told them. Frowning, Naruto stood up and left the room. Shikamaru sighed contently and settled back down into the cushions.

"I can feel the pressure, it's getting closer now." The TV blared the song as the two orphans danced on the mat. Sasuke tutted at that and decided to explore the orphanage. He exited the living room and turned right down a corridor he hadn't yet been down. There were rows of doors before he finally came to the entrance hall. A large chandelier hung from the ceiling, giving off the image of old grandeur. He looked around him. Now that he paid attention, the house was more like a mansion. There were several floors with long corridors, royal red carpets mixed with burgundy too. There was a particular corridor that caught Sasuke's attention. It was dark and foreboding to the teen and so, being the Uchiha he was, he decided to go down it. It was dimly lit and the rain from outside did nothing to make it better. The windows were high up, showing him the pitch black storm clouds that were gathering. A flash of lightning illuminated a door with steel markings. Curious as to what could be behind it, he grabbed the silver doorknob and went to turn it. Just as he was about to push the door open, a hand caught his.

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you," I t was Shino. His dark glasses covered his eyes and he let go of Sasuke's hand and walked back down the corridor. Not one to be put off so easily, Sasuke turned the knob and pushed the door open. What he was greeted with was a massive library. Why had Shino not wanted him to see this? His answer was presented to him when he saw a blonde curled up on a puffy armchair, a lamp shining on his face. He was reading a book and he was engrossed in it. He approached Naruto as he would normally.

"Dobe, what are you doing?" He was ignored as he advanced. Annoyed by this, he got closer and realised that Naruto's eyes were glazed over. Sasuke peered over the blonde's shoulder to see what he was reading.

_The world was doing fine in that morning. The children ran in the streets, laughing. People walked their dogs in the park on the green grass._

Sasuke's eyebrow raised slightly at the sentence.

"Nice fairytale there, dobe." He was ignored further. Sasuke huffed. It was no fun if Naruto wasn't reacting to his teasing. He exited the room and walked down to the hall. An incessant knocking was sounded at the front door. Sasuke checked his watch on his wrist. Time must've flown by because it was three o' clock already. Kakashi pushed past Sasuke and opened the door to four people who were drenched to the core. They stepped inside. Everyone had now crowded in the entrance hall to see the newcomers. A brunette with tattoos, another brunette with lavender eyes and a girl with purple hair and lavender eyes. They introduced themselves as Kiba, Neji and Hinata in that order. The fourth was a woman with a large chest, blonde hair and hazel eyes. Her name was Juura. Kaoru smirked and elbowed Cassie who just elbowed him back harder.

"Sexist jerk," she muttered. He just smirked and waltzed up to her.

"Hey there prettiful, how are you?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows. She just glared at him before hitting him over the head.

"Shuttit you! Children should be seen and not heard!" she barked at him. Cassie smirked at this and smiled smugly as Kaoru retreated.

"So guys, these are the people who cleaned up your mess at the hospital!" Kakashi smiled and looked to the people who were shuffling their feet guiltily. They smiled nervously before they ushered the guests into the living room. Shino handed the four newcomers a fluffy towel each. Kiba and Naruto had hit it off immediately, and already in a deep conversation about their favourite type of car. Sasuke sat in the corner with the white eyed brunette, glancing to Naruto every few seconds with something akin to jealousy on his face. After a while Neji snorted and shook his head.

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"It's so obvious. He really is oblivious," he commented as he walked off to join his cousin who was also talking to Naruto. Sasuke growled slightly and Gary walked up to him, eating another chocolate bar.

"Y'know, I've know Naruto nearly all my life and I can safely say, you really get on his nerves-"

"No shit, he grates on mine too,"

"BUT, throughout all of my years, he's never trusted someone on first meeting. They've always had to gain his trust somehow. Just think about why that is. You've seen the books he reads right?" he asked, taking another bite of the treat and sucking it.

"Yeah, those fairytales. What is with those?" Sasuke asked. Gary shrugged.

"Personally, I don't know, he's never told me. But I overheard from Iruka-sensei and Itachi-san that the reason why Naruto-kun's parents were killed were because they knew the Uchiha's and that Orochimaru's men couldn't trust the Namikaze's and Uzumaki's to stay put after the Uchiha massacre." He told the raven. Onyx eyes widened.

"Naruto's parents knew mine?" he asked. Gary nodded.

"Apparently they were best friends. I'd ask Shikamaru though if I were you. He knows everything." He told Sasuke once more before disappearing to talk to Juura. Sasuke walked over to where Shikamaru was talking to Chouji about different fighting techniques using shadows for help and dragged him away.

"Why are you being so troublesome Uchiha?" he asked as Chouji walked off to the kitchen to grab some more crisps.

"What do you know about Uzumaki and his parents- concerning my ones too?" he asked. Shikamaru sighed.

"I'm guessing Gary told you. Well, Naruto-kun is the only surviving Uzumaki, just as you are one of the last surviving Uchiha's. He feels it is his responsibility to revive his clan but that's nothing to do with parents. Your parents though, had an arrangement with Naruto's." By this point Sasuke was intrigued and leant in closer to hear.

"Your parents and Naruto's both had an agreement. The agreement was particularly made as well. Both your mother and Naruto's got pregnant around the same time, completely planned. The plan was that the two of you would end up together. If you were both boys or both girls, you'd be best friends but if one of you was a girl, you'd end up something more." Shikamaru explained. Sasuke frowned.

"They'd arrange for us to married?" he asked. Shikamaru nodded. Sasuke looked to the blonde who was chatting to Juura now. She had a look of annoyance about her but the softness in her eyes betrayed how she felt. Sasuke imagined the blonde as a girl. He smirked. He'd still be a dobe, he knew that. But marriage? A frown placed itself on the raven's face and he stared at the blonde, unable to tell how he'd feel. At that moment, Naruto turned to see who was watching him. Cerulean met onyx and the raven felt his breath catch in his chest. _Yeah_ he thought _if he was a girl_. He turned away from the blonde to face Shikamaru who had a knowing look on his face.

"You like him." Was all was said before the lazy genius returned to the sofa to nap. Sasuke just shook his head before walking up to the pink haired girl who was shyly talking to Itachi. She seemed to have forgiven him for the shaking of the night before and they were talking about first aid with Tsunade and Shizune.

"Sakura, right?" the girl nodded, turning away from the elder Uchiha.

"What would like Sasuke-kun?" she asked. Sasuke's eye twitched. Nobody had ever called him that and it made him sound like a kid. He dismissed it before asking her a question.

"Your parents. Where are they?" he asked. Sakura bit her lip before replying.

"They should be at home." She replied before turning back to Itachi and talking to him once more. Sasuke sighed and turned around to see Kamari staring at him.

"What?" Sasuke asked. Kamari just frowned before looking the Uchiha up and down.

"I'm sorry about earlier. If you're uncomfortable around Naruto-kun now, I'm sorry." He apologised. Sasuke hadn't expected this but just nodded to the redhead before walking to the blonde woman who was talking to Naruto.

"Hey there Naruto." He greeted non-chalantly. Naruto spluttered before regaining his composure.

"What do you want teme?" he asked the raven. Juura looked at the scene with interest, noting the small, barely existent blush on Naruto's cheeks as he talked to the raven. Only when he said something hurtful to the male blonde did she step in.

"Jeez, you're such a bastard Sasuke-chan, why don't you go play Dance Dance Revolution?" she sneered when she saw the flash of hurt in the cerulean blue eyes. Sasuke glared at her.

"What makes you so superior?" he snarled. Juura growled.

"If I were you, I'd be kissing my feet seeing as I destroyed the video footage of you in the hospital!" she snarled. Naruto stood awkwardly between the two of them.

"Um, guys?" he tried to but in.

"Shut up dobe, this doesn't concern you," Sasuke told him back, still attempting to glare Juura down. It was only when Sai came up to Naruto and asked "What's happenin' dickless?" that both glares were redirected to the pale raven. He sweat dropped and backed slowly away. Earning snickers from Kaoru and Kamari as he did so. The pair continued to glare at him until he was forced to run from the room. Naruto giggled slightly, catching Sasuke's attention. Whiskered cheeks blushed slightly and he turned away from the raven and began talking to Juura again, who kept on throwing dirty looks to Sasuke. At about 4.30 pm, Kakashi came into the room with Iruka to discuss what was going on. It was basically a recap of what had gone on last night and after many discussions, everybody had agreed to some extent as to what was going to happen next. Sakura was going to be taken home; Kiba, Hinata and Neji were going to stay at the orphanage whilst Juura was going to go back to her apartment. When all had been said and done, Kiba and Naruto relaxed in their room.

"So Naruto, what's up with the Uchiha kid?" Kiba asked, chewing on a lollypop stick from earlier. Naruto shrugged and leant back into the cushions of his bed.

"I think he hates me," Naruto whispered, rejection lacing his words. Kiba frowned.

"Is that an issue?" he asked. Naruto sighed.

"He's the first person who, when I've only just met, I've trusted. It scares me because usually I don't just accept people. Especially since his brother almost killed me." He told the brunette. Kiba chuckled. Naruto stared at him as if he'd lost his mind.

"What?" he asked defensively. Kiba shook his head and stared at Naruto with a knowing look.

"You've never heard of love at first sight, have you?" he asked the blonde. Naruto stuttered.

"Wh-what? How can I love that bastard? He's obnoxious, evil and always rude to me!" Naruto pouted. Kiba just shrugged.

"Whatever dude, all I know is that you're hugging the pillow he used pretty tight." He mocked. Naruto's cheeks turned beet red at that.

"I swear you've been sniffing it too!" he joked afterwards. Naruto growled before whacking Kiba over the head with it.

"Dude!" Kiba's pleas for mercy could be heard all over the orphanage that evening.

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><p><strong>WAHEY! That took forever! A whole weekend! Anyways, I'm off to watch Red Riding Hood ^^ Review guysh!<strong>


	5. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** Hey guys, I'm so sorry this is a week late, but I was forced into going to cadet camp. Nothing good actually came from it which I could use in this chapter which sucks, but I've gotten ideas for later chapters from it so I guess it wasn't a total waste. But still, I'm sorry. :'( So, here, is the next update. Try not to become depressed with my emo-vibes. (Rejection is hard, ne?)

**Warnings:** Shonen-ai references, violence and all from before chapters. Oh, and something only our beloved FMG knows about ;)

**Disclaimer:** Apparently you have to have an A* GCSE in English to apply a disclaimer! But honestly, I don't wanna get into to trouble. Juura99 owns Ktothepowerof2 and Juura, Kishimoto-sensei owns all Naruto characters and FMG owns Gary, isn't that lovely? A* worthy, I think :3

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><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

Gunfire.

Lots of it.

Startled, Naruto crashed to the floor and instantaneously, a heavy weight settled on top of him. A panicked yell from across the room confirmed the fact that Kiba had woken up too. A laugh from outside made everyone stop and look around at the surroundings. Gary had disappeared from the room at some point, and the window was open, letting in a small winter breeze. Sasuke had jumped on top of Naruto during his sleep-hazed state and was covering the blonde whilst Kiba- his hair ruffled and shirt disheveled- sat up straight, drool hanging from his mouth.

"Whazzgoinon?" he asked, looking around and spotting the two teens on the floor. Another bang ricocheted around the room, making the blonde flinch and the brunet cower beneath the sheets. Sasuke sighed and crossed to the window to look into the back garden. In the small clearing stood Itachi, Cassie, Kaoru, Kamari, Gary, Hinata and Neji. Shikamaru was in his trademark hammock wearing earplugs. Even from the distance he was at, Sasuke could see him muttering the word 'troublesome'. Moegi, Konohamaru and Udon stood in awe as they watched the raven blast a small target apart with a small .99mm pistol. Cassie had an exited look in her eye whilst Kaoru and Kamari were smirking at the weapons they held in their hands. Kamari was holding a L98A2 Rifle whilst Kaoru felt up a Desert Eagle. After blowing the target apart, Itachi turned to the two twins.

"Do you mind not touching my gadgets?" he asked, staring disdainfully at the two boys. Hinata giggled and grabbed the L98A2 rifle. It was quickly loaded with a magazine and she cocked it, aiming for the apple that hung on the lower branch. She shot it and the others watched in awe as the sticky juices splurted all over the crowd. Sasuke turned away from the window just as Kamari, Kaoru and Gary started to ask to have a go on the weapons. During his little watching session, Naruto had gone into the en-suit bathroom to get a shower. Kiba was trying to get back to sleep, placing his headphones over his ears to try and drown out the sound of the shots from the firearms below. A knocking to their door caused Sasuke to startle slightly. Sighing, he walked over to the door and opened it to be greeted with a large tray of breakfast being carried by Chouji.

"Iruka-sensei got us to save you guys some food," he explained. Sasuke nodded in thanks and took the tray from the teen's hands. Curious as to what the time was, Sasuke glanced to the wall on which a clock was mounted. He was extremely lucky that the juice didn't spill on the floor when he saw the time. It was one in the afternoon. Kiba groaned and rolled over in the bed.

"Dude, stop thinking, it's giving me headache!" he complained. Sasuke smirked and just scoffed.

"Moron, only idiots don't like it when other people think," he replied. Kiba growled before turning his gaze to the bathroom door. A puzzled look crossed his face as he realised that Sasuke was also staring at the door to the bathroom.

"So, Uchiha, what's your opinion on Naruto?" he asked, genuinely curious. Sasuke scowled at the question. Honestly, what was it with people wondering about his Naruto's relationship? They'd only met a couple of days ago. The grinding of teeth was heard over the pouring of water.

"Why do you ask?" Sasuke asked. Kiba shrugged before turning over in his bed and snuggling into the sheets.

"It's just that you were really quick to throw yourself on top of him when you heard the gunfire." He pointed out. Sasuke partially blushed. Now that he thought about it, he had technically glomped the teen when the loud crashes had intruded on his sleep. Sasuke groaned and slammed his head- as much as one can- into the pillow.

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><p>She was sat at her desk again. Another day, another dollar. Or so she had heard; where she was, they paid in pounds, not dollars. Nope, not even Euros! The tapping of keys echoed around the empty halls of the hospital, accompanied by a sigh. Manicured hands went to rub between hazel eyes as they tiredly glanced at the figures and numbers on the screen.<p>

"Dammit," she muttered, pressing the backspace button harshly. Footsteps then accompanied the tapping. Two sets. She smirked, knowing who it was, and spun her chair around, pasting a smile on her face.

"Well if it isn't Picasso and Van Gough!" she exclaimed sarcastically. The tall blond male and short redhead both glanced to her with a look akin to contentment on their face. She smirked towards the two males and ushered them to come over and look at the laptop screen. Perplexed, the two walked over to see what was so interesting. Sasori grinned along with Deidara as he realised what was going on.

"Nice editations there, Juura, un!" Deidara remarked. A small hit at the back of his head made him pout and look around.

"Idiot, 'editations' isn't a word," he scowled. Deidara pouted before going back to the issue at hand. The desktop showed a word document full of complicated equations and what looked like a breakdown of chemical compounds. Sasori's eyes widened at what he saw.

"Juura, you're a fucking genius!" he cried out uncharacteristically. Juura just waved her hand as if to say it was nothing. She saved it onto a small orange memory stick and dropped it into her bag by her feet. More footsteps sounded down the hall and panicking, Juura closed the window down. It was Orochimaru, and boy did he look mad! His golden eyes seemed sharper as he advanced over to the trio and his fists were tightly clenched by his sides. Once more, he breached the trio's personal bubbles to rant at them.

"The drug is gone! There is no security footage!" he snarled. The three of them just blinked, Deidara sweating slightly.

"Are you sure that the security guards haven't misplaced it, un?" he asked nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. Slowly, Orochimaru's eyes slid to the side, catching Deidara's dusty blue ones. The three silently sent up a prayer to whatever being was listening but as the world had it, it was ignored. The shorter two yelled out in shock when Orochimaru snatched Deidara's wrist up.

"However, the biometric support unit did manage to lift some finger prints. Guess whose came up Okamoto-kun!" he cooed sarcastically.

"NO!" Sasori yelled out in shock when Orochimaru pulled out a syringe from his pocket and placed it near the blonde's jugular. Deidara was visibly shaking at the contact, eyes darting around.

"Have you gone insane?" Juura yelled, standing up from her spinning office chair. Orochimaru smirked, ignoring the two extras.

"I presume you know what this is, don't you Okamoto-kun." He stated. Deidara squeezed his eyes closed and shook his head from side to side. A small chuckle emitted from the dark-haired doctor as he pulled it away and squirted some of the viscous liquid away.

"Well, if you don't know, it's time for show and tell!" he grinned sadistically once more and violently stabbed the needle into the blonde's neck. Two simultaneous yells echoed around the halls. The sadistic grin turned into a snarl as he pressed down the plunger. He ripped the needle out and turned on the spot, doctors' lab coat swishing as he walked down the abandoned halls. In an instant, Sasori and Juura were around the blond who had collapsed into the near chair. They only had a matter of minutes to save him.

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><p>Sweat rolled down the side of his face as he surveyed all the people around him. One person he was familiar with though and he knew it was safe when it came to that person. On his right, however, was one of the most prestigious in the business- if you could call it that. He scrubbed at his face with his free hand before using it to grab his Jack Daniels from in front of him. Heavy air surrounded him and he suddenly found himself wishing that he'd just stayed at work that evening. Sure it was tiring, what with his hobby on the side, but at the moment, things were going bad. A glint in the man's eye opposite him gave him the confidence he needed to make his move.<p>

"All in, I call your bluff!" he roared to the man, grinning triumphantly. The man sighed and placed his cards on the table.

"Two aces."

"WHAT THE HELL?" he roared, slamming his 'Chief of Police' badge on the table in frustration. The man smirked, brushing a strand of silver hair from his face, revealing an eye-patch covering it.

"Bad luck Jiraiya-sama. You should know better than that," he smirked.

"Dammit Kakashi, how do you do it?" Jiraiya stressed, rubbing his hand over his face once more. The man to his right chuckled and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"At least you're not as bad as Tsunade-san. Ne Tsunade?" he asked in jest. Tsunade growled as she slammed down her three of hearts and seven of clubs.

"Watch it Uchiha-san! I can easily kick you out onto the streets!" she snarled, leaning over the table, accidentally giving Jiraiya a free show. The pervert's eyes lit up and in an instant, he whipped out his notebook and started to make notes.

"Jiraiya-sama, isn't that your police notebook?" Kakashi asked, sweat-dropping. Jiraiya shrugged and continued to write things down at the speed of a thousand angry gazelles.

"You want the new 'Icha Icha' to come out soon, don't ya?" he asked. And like that, Kakashi became engrossed with Jiraiya as he scribbled down in his black leather notebook.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?" came a loud yell as the door was slammed open. Everyone froze in their respective positions. Itachi was picking at his nail polish, Tsunade was leaning over the table, grabbing her chest as she was indicating that she was "not a model to be toyed with!" whilst Kakashi and Jiraiya were pouring their hearts and souls out into the notebook. Kakashi was the first to snap out of his daze...just to slip into a new one as he saw how Iruka had a few strands of hair loose around his face and wearing only a pair of sweatpants. A blush took over his features and he scratched his cheek with his forefinger.

"Well, Iruka-san, we were just having a friendly game of strip poker. Care to –"

"It wasn't strip poker you pervert!" Tsunade yelled before turning an apologetic face towards the shocked brunet.

"Don't worry Iruka-san. We were just finishing up here. How were Haruno's parents when you took her home?" Tsunade asked. Iruka shook his head before going to answer Tsunade, aware the whole time of the pair of silver eyes watching him.

"They were overjoyed. I advised them to go into hiding for a while just in case Orochimaru comes looking for them." He relayed to Tsunade. The busty blonde nodded before standing up and ripping open the curtains.

"Ah! The sunlight! It burns!" Kakashi moaned, writhing in his seat in mock discomfort. Iruka suppressed a giggle. Itachi just hissed and covered his eyes at the intrusion.

"Be thankful you're not fucking sparkling!" he added, squinting as he tried to see properly. Gun shots from outside sounded again. Kakashi smirked.

"They're still playing with your toys, Itachi," he relayed. Itachi snarled.

"Sons of bitches. I bet it's Naruto this time! He won't leave the A2 alone!" he stressed, walking outside into the garden.

Sure enough, Naruto was standing, pointing the weapon at a small make-shift scare-crow that somehow, if you squinted, resembled Kakashi but covered in tomato ketchup sachets. Itachi held back a chuckle and shook his head as the boy missed once again. The blond growled in frustration and it didn't help that Sasuke was right next to him, making smart comments. Kiba was talking with Hinata and Neji further off by the hammock where Shikamaru was still sleeping.

"Why do I keep missing?" Naruto stressed loudly. Itachi saw Sasuke smirk as he got closer.

"Dobe, you need to get your marksmanship principles correct." He lectured. The blank look on Naruto's face said it all. Sasuke sighed and pressed closer to the blond.

"Idiot. Firstly, your hold should be firm enough to support the weapon un-aided," he explained as Naruto held the rifle up and aimed at the target. Sasuke sighed and wrapped his arms around the figure of the blond, closing his hands over Naruto's as he readjusted the hold. A small pink blush rose to his cheeks as he stared down the range with Sasuke's mouth near his ear, telling him about the rules.

"Secondly, the weapon must point naturally at the target." He continued, moving Naruto to the right slightly so that the barrel of the pistol pointed straight towards the dummy, still with his hold around the blond. Naruto nodded absent-mindedly, closing his left eye and seeing that he was much better in line with the target.

"Thirdly, you need to control your breathing," Sasuke whispered into the blonde's ear. Naruto involuntarily shivered and glanced back up the sights.

"In and out, in and out, in and then half out. Once you get to the half out, hold it for a few seconds whilst you squeeze the trigger. Squeeze, don't snatch." He whispered. Naruto's breaths were coming out a bit shorter than usual as the taller male was pressed up against him.

"Control your breathing, dobe," Sasuke reminded. Naruto scowled at the raven before forcing himself to even out his breathing. Once he had calmed down, he set his face and focused on the target.

"When you fire your shot, wait a couple of seconds before letting go of the trigger. This is called following the shot through." Sasuke explained. Naruto nodded, blushing as Sasuke's breath ghosted over the shell of his ear. The blond steeled himself and counted out the marksmanship principles. He was controlling his breathing quite well and he had never felt as calm as he had right then. Sasuke felt Naruto squeezing the trigger and squeezed with him, ignoring the loud ban that came from the round as it discharged. After two seconds, Naruto and Sasuke both released their fingers from the trigger, watching in amusement as they saw the remains of the ketchup sachet near the crotch fly about. A large red splatter resided around that area and Sasuke frowned.

"You were a bit low, dobe. Maybe you should try rising the weapon," he suggested. He was about to go further with his lecture when he realised Naruto was laughing.

"Teme, that's where I was aiming for!" he gasped between laughs. Sasuke blanched and cringed at the thought of Naruto doing that to someone. Naruto suddenly stopped laughing and his eyes widened as he felt someone watching him. He turned around in Sasuke's arm to see Itachi smirking at him in that way that smug people do when they know something that someone else doesn't- an example being the answer to life. Sasuke caught onto his gaze and turned too, staring at his brother. It was only then that he realised that the two of them were in an intimate position, none of the making any sort of move to break it. Itachi smiled and shook his head before walking over to Kamari who was talking with Cassie in the shade of an oak tree. Naruto coughed awkwardly and the two broke apart, looking in opposite directions to one another.

"Aaawkward," Kaoru muttered as he walked past the two boys. Instantaneously, two glares were locked onto his retreating figure, making the redhead shudder as he walked towards his sibling. A chuckle made them both turn around. Gary was walking across the lawn next to Sai, both laughing at something that had been said. Inwardly, the two sighed, glad that the two boys weren't laughing at them.

"Shit!" the loud curse from inside the house attracted the attention of everyone in the garden. Worried about what was going on, Sasuke and Naruto ran into the house to see that Kakashi had smashed a hole in the wall and that his knuckles were bleeding freely.

"Kakashi-san! What's wrong?" Iruka asked, rushing over to the grey haired man. His shoulders were shaking as he attempted to burn holes into the floor with his gaze.

"It's the Harunos. More specifically, Sakura's parents'. It seems there was a tip off somewhere and that the house was raided. Only Sakura got out alive," he explained. Sharp intakes of breath were heard throughout the room and there was a small sob from Hinata as she realised what was going on. Naruto had been stunned into silence and Sasuke was worried. Something was off in Naruto's eyes, the way he clenched and unclenched his fists systematically. He snapped.

"FIND SAKURA AND BRNG HER HERE FOR SAFETY, NOW!" Everyone was silent at the blonde's outburst before Iruka jumped up and started making calls to everyone he knew. Kakashi sighed and turned to Jiraiya.

"Do you think you can handle this?" he asked the older male. Jiraiya nodded sagely before practically launching himself out of the front door and speeding away in his blue and yellow cruiser. Itachi sighed and rubbed in between his eyes. This whole thing was starting to give him a headache.

"Does anybody get the feeling that the older guys are doing something they shouldn't?" Konohamaru asked as he sat playing on his 3DS. Moegi shrugged, not really bothered and so continued to sketch in her notepad.

"As long as they're safe, I'm fine with what they do." She said omnisciently. The others silently agreed.

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><p>"Stupid damn puddles!" the teen complained as she walked down the street, the orange glow of a streetlamp illuminating her platinum blonde hair. Her fringe was cast over her left eye and she was wearing a purple tank-top, light blue skinny jeans complete with white plimsolls. A gust of wind picked up, seemingly from nowhere so she pulled her arms around her as she walked past a dark alley. Rattling caught her attention. She stopped where she was walking and backtracked a few paces. Her phone buzzed in her back pocket. Sighing, she fished it out to see it was her best friend rival, Sakura Haruno. The rattling persisted from the alley which piqued the girl's curiosity. Unable to take anymore torture, she entered the alleyway.

"Hello?" she yelled. No answer. '_How typical...jerks!'_ she ranted in her head. A tip lid rattled, causing the girl to approach with caution. Holding her breath- the stench really was something- she lifted the lid.

"Holy crap!" she yelled as a black cat screeched and ran out of its dark den before darting out of the alley. She blanched. All of that excitement for nothing? She sighed and adjusted her nametag on her 'Konoha_ Flourist_' apron. She clicked her tongue before exiting the alley the way she had came. A drip on her cheek suddenly brought her to attention that it was starting to rain.

"Bloody hell! It's not my day today!" she stressed, hurrying into a jog as the rain started to come down harder. Eventually she found a ramen stand to take shelter under. It was called 'Ichiraku's Ramen'. As she sat shivering on a stool, a man with blue tinted skin sat at the other end, pushing the prawns around on his plate. She just sighed nostalgically, remembering the time about ten years ago when she had been so picky with her foods. Her eyes widened as the seat next to her was taken up by a person only a few years older than her. His silver hair was pulled back in a tie and his glasses gave off an air of intelligence. The girl had to admit, the fact he spoke with a British accent was the best thing. A blush found a way up her neck when he caught her staring.

"Sorry," she muttered. The teen just laughed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Nah, don't be. I get it all the time, being British and all," he spoke gently to the girl, as if she was the most precious thing in the world. The teens just sat there in silence until it was eventually broken by the newcomer.

"My name's Kabuto, what's yours?" the teen- Kabuto- asked. The girl fidgeted nervously, debating whether or not to give the guy her name before eventually deciding that she could trust him.

"It's Ino Yamanaka," she replied shyly. Kabuto smiled at her.

"Say, into, how about we step outside for a bit. I have an umbrella." He suggested. Hardly daring to believe her luck, Ino stepped out and quickly jumped under Kabuto's big umbrella. She giggled slightly when a small drop landed on the teen's nose but quickly put her hand over her mouth.

"I like your laugh Ino. I should like to hear it more often," Kabuto smiled. Ino just blushed, unaware of where they were walking to. Only when she felt two fingers being pressed to her pressure point did she realise that something was wrong. Ino Yamanaka had been tricked.

The van ride was bumpy, that much she could tell. As soon as she had woken up, she'd found herself surrounded by darkness but with a radio station blaring through playing awful songs from the 80s. She groaned in displeasure through her gag as Rick Astley's 'Never Gonna Give You Up' started to play. Kabuto smirked at her through the rear-view mirror.

"I know, it's terrible isn't it? Unfortunately it's the only radio station Orochimaru-sama allows," Kabuto explained. Suddenly, Ino felt her situation was entirely different from just getting abducted by a man. Now she was going to be involved with the mighty Orochimaru-sama for something bad. Panic flashed across her lavender iris' as she thought of what she was going to go through. Kabuto smirked.

"Don't worry Ino-chan, it's for science and medicine," he told her. Somehow, that just made it worse.

A large hospital appeared over the horizon and Ino swallowed as she recognised it. This place had been in the news recently for a break in- well, it was on the internet blogger news via Akumaru Jump- but the news nonetheless. The van came to a sudden halt and she hit her head on the metal side. Grumbling, she glared at Kabuto as he opened the back doors of the van. He smiled gently and extended his hand for her to grab it. She gave him a look that said 'You must be joking' before trying to motion to her bound hands. Kabuto's eyes widened.

"Oh, sorry about those," he replied before cutting her free of restraints. As soon as she was free, she pulled off the gag.

"Dear lord what is on that rag?" she asked, brushing her tongue with her hand. Kabuto smirked.

"You don't want to know. Now come along before Orochimaru-sama get's annoyed." He told her, grabbing her upper arm not harshly but with enough force that she couldn't escape. Ino sighed, seeing no choice but to comply. She didn't exactly want her brains decorating the wall when she resisted. After all, the rumours that she'd heard always had the same moral. Comply, don't ask questions. She was actually amazed at how calm she felt. She was pulled into the lobby. The receptionist was absent and Ino felt herself pale as she saw something red splattered across the computer monitor.

"What happened there?" she asked timidly. Kabuto grimaced before turning back to the front.

"A trio of fools who tried to be heroes." He replied, walking into an office and knocking three times. A hiss of permission was granted and the huge mahogany doors swung open to reveal the current leader of the world, Orochimaru. He smirked at his assistant and then to the girl he had with him.

"Good choice Kabuto, good choice. I'm sure she'll do fine," he said reassuringly. Ino smiled and tried to curtsey before him, but it came out as a half squat. She giggled nervously as Orochimaru looked at her with disdain.

"She seems too compliant, Kabuto. I like a little fight with my clients. Dispose of her." He muttered, going back to a pile of dossiers on his desk. Ino stuttered.

"W-what do you mean dispose of me? HEY!" she yelled as she was dragged out by two heavy looking men.

"I'll get you for this you cunt!" she yelled as she was dragged away. Kabuto flinched at the harsh language before turning to see Orochimaru, who strangely enough, had a smile on his face.

"Orochimaru-sama?" Kabuto asked gently. He had that look in his eye. The one that Kabuto hated with every fibre of his being. A file was thrown to him and he caught it with one hand.

"I want this one, Kabuto. Get him, and I'll promote you." Orochimaru guaranteed. Kabuto nodded and walked out of the office, pulling out the picture and file for the one Orochimaru wanted.

_Uzumaki Naruto_

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><p><strong>AN: <strong>Another two days for this! D: 3000 of these 4000 words were done this evening, and to be honest, I'm shaking because of the coffee and my hands look weird :/ Well, sorry for being late guys ^^ Look on the bright side, I got to use my Cadet training from that camp to put in a SasuNaru moment :D Gotta love cliché moments :3 See you next Monday... Yes you heard me next Monday! X-Mas Holdiays! Fuck yeah! Oh, sorry about the use of the 'C' word earlier, please don't be offended! OH!

If any of you guys can list all of the songs I've used so far in this fiction, I'll write you any type of Naruto prompt you want! (nothing rated 'M' though... my 'rents would kill me!) Just to clarify, I didn't use a song is this chapter. But seriously, Artist and song. I'll give the winner their prompt :3

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><p><strong>Next Time!<strong>

**Kabuto needs to catch Naruto, but as his relationship grows with Sasuke, what's at risk? What happened to Juura, Sasori and most importantly, Deidara? Find out next time, in 'Fighting Darkness'!**

**This FanFiction is brought to you by The Lazy Sheets co.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** Haha, next chapter ja ne? Well, hopefully some questions will be answered *innocent whistling* Heehee! OH! Also, I'm now a beta-reader so if anyone needs me, just check it out yo! This is the longest chapter at 5000 words (yeah I'm lazy, deal with it!)

**Disclaimer:** Nothing witty to say this time apart from the fact that if I owned this, the Random Extra Dude/God (check my dA) would so be in there more and smacking Sasuke and Naruto together. Unfortunately, that's not happening so I don't own! Juura, Kao and Kam belong to Juura99 and Gary is Fullmetal Gary's bitc- uh, I mean FMG owns him ^^;

**Warnings:** Heehee, well, Implied SasuNaru (MORE :D) maybe some angst, the Twins, swearing and violence. Also, British Humour. Yerp :/ Kinda the Jeremy Clarkson type so beware! *ghost hands*

So! On we go!

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><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

By the time they had found Sakura, she was a mess. Her hair was matted and her face stained with tears at what she had witnessed. Jiraiya felt sorry for her and was even hurt by what was going on in her life.

"Miss Haruno, I'm here to take you to Konoha Orphanage," he notified as he helped her stand up from the dirty alley floor she was sitting on. She was shivering as the misty sleet fell from the swirling grey clouds above her head. The ride back in the cruiser was silent apart from the occasional sniffle from the pinkette in the back of the car. The heater had been turned up to near full and a Styrofoam cup of hot chocolate pressed between her fragile hands. Jiraiya sighed once more as he glanced at the tired looking girl from his rear-view mirror.

Gravel crunched under the tires of the cruiser as it pulled up to the large house. At the door stood Cassie with a frown sporting her features and her arms crossed over her chest. Like a zombie, Sakura walked up to the door, not noticing the brunette until she was pulled into a hug. Things went by pretty quickly after that. Sakura was shown to her room that she was to share with Cassie, Moegi and Hinata. A bed by the door had been made up for her, a light pastel pink quilt cover adorning the duvet along with a darker pink bed-sheet and white pillows. Cassie sighed and sat next to the pinkette on the bed.

"Look," she started, gaining Sakura's attention, "I'm not going to bombard you with clichés, I have no idea what it feels like to lose someone so precious to me so I won't lecture you on that but what I will say is this: It's not the end of the World. I know it may sound crazy to you but, if you give it a try, you can avenge them. That's what everyone here is doing," Sakura looked up to Cassie in surprise.

"Everyone here is fighting for something they love, or avenging something they've lost. Naruto for the world he's lost; the twins to protect one another; Gary, well, I know for a fact that he has something personal with Orochimaru from a young age; Shikamaru even has something worth fighting for although he's never shown anything other than the fact he thinks the world is troublesome. We all have our reasons for doing this. Why don't you join?" she asked, looking the pinkette in the eyes. Sakura had stayed quiet during the speech before finally, the words took effect.

"What about you?" she asked, curiosity nibbling at her senses. Cassie sighed and smiled towards the girl.

"I'm just having fun with life!" she laughed. Sea foam green eyes widened at the girl's confession before sliding back to normal.

"So, I could avenge my parents?" she asked quietly. Cassie sighed once more and smiled.

"Yeah. Then we can really teach Orochimaru that he's just one giant PMSing bitch!" she giggled. Sakura couldn't help but join in with the laughter this time, especially when Cassie fell onto the floor with a thud.

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><p><em>The bruises were the first things to appear. The rapid swelling of blood under skin was too noticeable at that point and so they had no option but to do it. Sasori was trying to remain calm as the blood level rose in his companion and started to flood from pale lips. A splat landed on the computer monitor as Deidara coughed up some more blood. Red mixed with blonde and wormed its way under manicured fingers.<em>

"_Dammit Sasori! Get your ass over here and help!" she screamed, rummaging around in her desk drawers. The redhead nodded but just as he was about to walk away and help, a crash reverberated around the halls as the tall blond fell off the chair, further damaging himself. That's when he started to wretch. After a few moments of dry-heaving, blood started to pour from his mouth and spread around under the desk. Red seeped into the sunset orange bag that was shoved under an office wheelie chair. A small syringe caught hazy blue eyes as his two counterparts ran to help him. Another wretch withdrew more blood and he was starting to lose his vision. If he didn't point out the syringe soon, he'd be dead within 60 seconds and counting. As he shakily pointed towards the orange bag, the blonde became aware of what the other was getting at. Hazel eyes widened as the owner remembered the syringe that was in her bag. Without a moment's hesitation, she pulled it out and stabbed it into the blonde's arm, sedating him. His arms felt shaky as he tried to get a grip on the slippery red surface. All he could manage was a weak smile before he passed out._

Sasori glanced at the frail form on the bed. Deidara had been asleep ever since the incident two days ago and Juura was sure he wouldn't wake up if his current stats were anything to go by. In all of his years of working under Orochimaru, Sasori had never hated the man as much as he had now. His biggest annoyance-turned-best-friend was lying comatose on a bed because of the fact one small test subject escaped. Not to mention that the snake-bastard had sent out a team of mercenaries to destroy the family too. Juura entered the room to see the redhead just laying his head on the light blue sheets. She sighed and rubbed her hand across her face.

"Sasori? I'm going out for a bit. Don't destroy anything when I'm gone, okay?" she tried to joke. Her humour was lost on the man as he just gazed at the still form on the bed. She sighed before grabbing her car keys from the pot by her front door. It was sleeting when she stepped outside into the now December air. Her breath rose in spirals as she made her way to the sleek black 1967 Chevrolet Impala that was parked at the end of her driveway. Crisp leather seats were cold to the touch as she entered but soon warmed up as the heating kicked in and the V8 engine started her journey. Tired of the consistent silence as she drove down the road, she pushed in a cassette tape and sighed in relief as the familiar sounds of Led Zeppelin were aroused from the speaker system. There was only one destination in mind for the blonde because damn it, she needed answers! The drug that Deidara had been injected with was a prototype at best, just a bunch of chemicals that had been thrown together by a mad person with a fetish for world domination. A set of red lights forced her to stop on her journey and she leant on her window and looked out only to see a woman being harassed by two men in their late fifties. Sighing once more, she wound down her window and withdrew two small knives from her bag. Hell, they were only small steak ones that she'd snagged from a restaurant a few nights ago but they'd do the trick nonetheless. Just as one of them was going to make a move on the woman, Juura flicked her wrist and the cutlery caught between his shoulders and he fell to the ground, twitching. His companion looked over to see Juura in the car, smiling and waving at him. Cowardice struck his heart and he dashed away, leaving his companion at the side of the road. The woman just looked at her before smiling in appreciation. Juura nodded before a beeping behind her alerted her to the fact the light was now in fact green.

The rest of the journey was uneventful and as she pulled up to the large building, a sense of nostalgia washed over her being. Deciding she had stalled long enough, Juura walked up to the door and smacked it heavily three times. She noticed the cruiser and groaned.

'_Great, He's here._' She mentally complained. Briefly, she toyed with the idea of dragging her keys across the paintwork but thought better of it when the green eyed redhead from before answered the door. He leant on the frame.

"Well hey there hot stuff. I knew you'd be back for more. I'm just irresistib-"

"You have one second to shut up before I personally castrate you with the spare steak knife I currently have in my bag," she told him blankly. All trace of cockiness was lost at that statement and Juura just face-palmed before looking over his shoulder.

"Look, I really need to speak with Tsunade, so if you could please move your tiny ass, I'd be eternally grateful," she drawled. Kaoru glared at her before stepping aside. Before she had completely walked out of ear shot, Juura smirked at the comment she'd heard.

"I don't have a tiny ass!" Kaoru grumbled before closing the door and walking back into the living room where everyone was currently seated. Juura just continued to where she knew Tsunade's office was. She knocked three times before entering.

"What is it Juura?" Tsunade asked as she looked over a folder of Sakura's medical history. The young adult sat in the vacant chair opposite the busty blonde.

"Deidara was injected with chemicals a couple of nights ago. I need the counter chemicals," she told the elder. Dusty golden eyes looked into hazel for a minute before going back down to the medical records.

"I'll need a list of all the chemicals that were found in the substance before I can do anything," she told the younger. Before anything else was said, a piece of paper was thrust under the nose of the woman at the desk and she eyed it wearily before nodding.

"Orochimaru is a bastard, that's for sure," she muttered as she progressed down the list, writing the counter chemicals next to each one and the required dosage. After five minutes, she handed over the piece of paper to the one opposite her. Juura nodded her thanks and left the room. She was about to leave through the front door when she saw something that piqued her interest. The blue eyed blond whom the prissy had been insulting was walking down the hall as if entranced by something. Slyly, Juura started to follow him. He led her unknowingly down various corridors until he stopped. Juura, not noticing this, walked straight into his back and tripped over him. Naruto snapped out of his daze as he saw the blonde on top of him. That's when he screamed, alerting the whole orphanage to his predicament.

Sasuke was the first to arrive on scene and wrapping his arms protectively around the blond male.

"What the fuck?" he yelled at Juura, unable to face the fact that Naruto had been stalked by someone he didn't know that well.

"Mind your language little brother," came the deep voice of Itachi from the door the boys had been standing by. Sasuke growled slightly and unconsciously pulled the blonde further into his chest, almost as if he wanted him to be one with his shirt.

"Teme, I can't breathe!" Naruto gasped after two minutes of Juura and Sasuke doing nothing but glaring. Onyx eyes widened as he realised that he was indeed suffocating the poor blond. Juura smirked at the two before turning on her heel.

"Well, I'm sure you two have plans. I'll be off," she said innocently, whistling a small tune and spinning her car keys around her fingers. She smirked. Those two really were idiots.

* * *

><p>As Sasuke and Naruto made their way back to the lounge, the former started to wonder about why the blonde was smirking before walking off. Sure he had been acting protective of Naruto lately, but that didn't mean anything. If anything, it was completely natural after he'd learned that Naruto was linked to him but not via family means...if that made sense. It also happened to be his last day in the orphanage today before Itachi, Kakashi and he had to go back to their small cottage retreat in the country. As Kakashi had emphasised last night, they had overstayed their welcome and were soon to get going. The thought of leaving Naruto behind made his chest ache with an unfamiliar feeling; this was definitely new to him- trusting someone other than family. He had yet to actually tell Naruto that he was leaving in less than three hours. Speaking of Naruto...<p>

"Hey Sasuke, what are you doing?" he asked in shock as he was pulled by his wrist down a random corridor. Sasuke smirked as Naruto was pulled along further, taking him down lefts and rights until eventually the two came to a small room Naruto knew to be the music room.

"Sasuke, what are we doing here?" Naruto asked, genuinely confused.

"I wanted to get away from everyone," he replied simply. Naruto frowned and shifted his weight to his other foot.

"Then why am I here if you wanted to get away?" he asked once more, tilting his head in confusion. Sasuke's smirk grew as he stepped closer to the blond. Naruto swallowed slightly as he drew closer, a light pink dusting his scarred cheeks. He stepped back. Sasuke stepped forward. Another step back. It continued until Naruto felt his back hit the wall next to the piano. He flinched slightly as Sasuke peered down at him.

"Dobe," he whispered. Naruto looked up, determination brimming in blue irises.

"Teme! What do you want?" he yelled back, this time stepping closer. Sasuke took a moment to think about that. What _did_ he want? He was pretty certain that he liked the blond in more than the friendship way. Was he just teasing Naruto in this moment? What was the point of all this stepping? He sighed and stepped back.

"I'm leaving in a few hours dobe." He told the blond. He hadn't expected Naruto's reaction, but when it came, he was stunned.

A slap to the face.

The resounding 'SLAP' echoed a bit due to the room's acoustics and Sasuke found himself clutching his cheek and staring at Naruto with disbelieving eyes.

"YOU BASTARD!" Okay, maybe Naruto had overreacted-

"I HATE YOU!" maybe Sasuke should calm him down.

"WHAT THE HELL, MAN? WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL?" Okay, he didn't expect that quote...

"WHY WOULD YOU JUST LEAVE?" he sounded a bit hurt underneath that yell. He swung his fist round for another hit to Sasuke's face but he found his hand caught within the raven's much larger one.

"TEME LET ME GO!" he yelled, trying to get free. Sasuke just shook his head and used his hold on the blond to pull him flush against his chest.

"Why are you so upset, Naruto?" he purred at the smaller boy in his arms. Naruto flushed a beautiful shade of magenta at that.

"I'm not!" he responded, trying to pull himself away from Sasuke and avoiding all eye contact. Confused by this, Sasuke tried to get a look at the blonde's face but was shocked when it was turned away from him.

"Let me go!" Naruto persisted, although a bit more weakly this time. In surprise, Sasuke let go of the fist he was holding and the blond fled from the room. Not knowing what else to do, Sasuke gave chase.

Naruto only had one destination in mind where he could go to sort himself out. He could hear Sasuke following him through the corridors so decided to take a sharp right before opening a random door and shutting himself in. Silently, he tried to catch his breath before looking around at the room he was in. He heard the calls of Sasuke in the near distance but he couldn't be distracted with small issues like that at the moment.

'_But is it a small issue?_' a voice in his head asked. Naruto jumped at his thoughts before looking back around the room.

'_It's not a big issue!_' he reasoned, before seeing how crazy it was, responding to a small voice in his head. It was just his overactive imagination. The room was dusty with heavy curtains that hung from 30cm from the ceiling and pooled by the door that led out onto a balcony. The cream paint was peeling on the walls and all of the furniture was covered by white sheets.

'_If it's not a big issue then why are you crying?_' the voice asked. Almost as if on instinct, he felt his cheeks just to confirm yes, he had been crying. Wiping any thoughts of Sasuke from his mind, he swept his jumper sleeve over his cheeks to remove the wetness.

"Fucking teme; leaving us alone in this; going home to his fancy house to eat his fancy tuna!" Naruto grumbled as he peered around the room and under the white sheets. A snort sounded from behind him resulting in Naruto almost giving himself whiplash.

"Sasuke doesn't like tuna Naruto-kun," in the doorway stood Itachi, arms folded, leaning against the frame.

"Well either way, he's abandoning us," Naruto grumbled, feeling a stinging behind his eyes once more. Itachi sighed and entered the room. He glanced around, onyx eyes surveying everything. Beneath one sheet was a baby's cradle containing a nine tailed fox plush doll. Itachi smiled when he picked it up and showed it to Naruto.

"Y'know, Naruto, Sasuke doesn't mean to be a heartless bastard-" a snort interrupted that statement and Itachi smirked.

"Well, not a huge one anyway- but he seems genuinely concerned for you. I'm guessing if he had a choice, he'd stay here. However, we need to return to our base to get some work done regarding Orochimaru." He explained. He walked closer to the blond and flicked him on the forehead. A look of concern flashed across blue eyes.

"But what if something bad happens and we're not all there to help. What if you get attacked by Orochimaru and his men! What if-"

"I think, you're thinking about too many hypothetical questions." He replied with a gentle smile. Naruto looked to the ground, trying to fight the tears.

"I don't think of too many hypotheticals!" he protested with a slight tone of humour to his voice. Itachi smirked and handed the plushie to Naruto who stroked the ears nostalgically.

"Silly boy, 'hypotheticals' isn't a word," he smirked before walking out of the room, leaving Naruto to think about everything that had been said to him.

He returned downstairs 30 minutes later, a bit saner than he had been when entering the unknown room. Sasuke was no-where to be seen in the room but Kamari was looking worried.

"Hey Naruto, have you seen Kaoru?" he asked. Naruto blanched. That was weird.

"No, sorry Kam. Maybe he's gone exploring in the house?" he suggested. Kamari shook his head.

"No, we know every inch of this house and I've checked every centimetre. I can't find him!" he stressed, looking around as though Kaoru would magically appear from thin air.

"Maybe he's gone to the shops," Shikamaru suggested, yawning loudly and turning over on the sofa. Sai smiled.

"He did say something about going out. Gary's with him too," he told the smaller redhead whose turquoise eyes held a hint of sadness in them.

"Oh, okay," he replied, walking off to his room dejectedly. His twin had never gone off without telling him before.

Naruto noticed the strange behaviour but decided not to dwell for too long.

"Hey guys, where's Sasuke?" he asked. But of course, Sai had to attack with a comment.

"Naruto, Sasuke likes dicks but you, however, don't have one. Why are you pining?" he asked, changing the TV channel to a cartoon with a stork and a racoon who was currently 'Hamboning'- at least it sounded like that's what it was called- a massive monster, on the moon. His attention turned back to Sai.

"What is it with you and my penis? I'm very well endowed! It's all there! I'm a man damn it!" he yelled, shaking his fist at the pale raven who was still smiling.

"NARUTO!" said blond flinched when his name was yelled from behind him. He turned around and came face to face with Sasuke.

"S-Sasuke?" he asked, looking like a doe caught in the headlights. Angry onyx stared into scared blue and for a moment, the two were suspended in time...until Sai decided to help...with an elbow to Naruto's back. The blond stumbled forward, causing his lips to press into the ones of the raven who was currently glaring at him. Angry morphed into confused and scared morphed into anxious as the raven pressed his lips against the blonde's with more force. The small 'eep' was lost as Sasuke brushed his tongue across the blonde's bottom lip, asking for entrance. That small movement caused the blond to pull away and bolt from the room, hand over his mouth. Sai looked a little lost before pulling out a book.

"But I was so sure he liked you! Everything in this book indicated it!" he stressed, flicking through the pages to see what could possibly have gone wrong. His eyes widened when he fell on a particular section. He looked up to see Sasuke frozen on the spot.

"Sasuke, you don't suppose that was Naruto's first kiss do you?" Chouji asked, sipping on a juice box. Shikamaru sighed.

"Of course it was, didn't you see that blush. He has no idea what's going on!" Shikamaru responded. Sasuke was just stood there, fingers on his lips before everything finally caught up with him.

"I stole his first kiss," he muttered. Konohamaru chose that moment to walk in.

"Anyone know why Naruto-nii is trying to drown himself in the pond?" he asked casually, tapping away at his DS buttons. Sasuke's eyes widened at the statement and he bolted from the room to outside where he saw Naruto just staring into the pond in which three little ducks were swimming in. Sasuke sighed in relief. He was going to kill Konohamaru later for making him worry so much. That's when it hit him. Despite the alliance they had with the orphanage, after today, they wouldn't be seeing much of one another- possibly not at all until the day that they decided to finally raid Orochimaru's 'palace' and kill the bastard himself- but even then, that would be business and no screw-ups and distractions were allowed. They could be fatal at that point. The raven could now see why Naruto was so pissed. He approached the blonde and stood next to him as he stared at the ducks, not wanting to break the oh-so-rare silence that surrounded the blond. The two stood there for what felt like hours before a light shivering overtook the blonde. Sasuke glanced at him and realised that he was just wearing a black short sleeve t-shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans. The raven sighed at the blonde's- what he would call stupidity, but this wasn't the right time to insult him- and took off his jacket to place it over Naruto's shoulders. Naruto turned to him, confused before sighing and pulling it tighter around his body.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready?" he muttered, looking down at the frost covered grass. Sasuke sighed and looked towards the smaller boy.

"I'm...sorry, Naruto," he replied. Blonde tresses swung as he shook his head.

"Don't...just, go away." He muttered, looking away from the raven haired teen. Not one to be bossed around, Sasuke just stood there and wrapped his arms around Naruto's shoulders. Blue glared into amused onyx as he just squeezed the shoulders tighter.

"Dobe," he muttered affectionately. Naruto huffed.

"I'm trying to be angry at you teme," he replied. Sasuke smirked.

"And how's that going for you?" he replied cockily. Naruto smirked in return.

"Terribly!" he countered with a huge smile on his face. Sasuke rolled his eyes but tensed when he heard his brother call him from the house.

"Sasuke, time to get going!" he yelled, already stood at the front door with Kakashi who was exchanging numbers with Iruka with a slight blush on his cheeks. A slight panic overtook the blond as he watched Sasuke retreat away towards a van that had pulled up. A man was sitting in the front, skin tinted blue and pushing in a cassette tape. He was drumming to a beat and looked over to see Sasuke and Naruto together. He waved to them and Naruto shyly waved back whilst Sasuke flipped him the bird. This caused mixed reactions. Kisame feigned hurt; Naruto hit Sasuke on the arm whilst Itachi just reprimanded his brother's 'language' from afar. Kakashi was still busy with Iruka.

"Bye then," Naruto muttered, taking off Sasuke's jacket and handing it to him. Sasuke just smirked and pushed it back to the blonde.

"You need it more than I do, dobe," he smirked. Naruto flushed and grumbled before slipping it back on. Sasuke smiled gently and reached down to peck Naruto on the lips.

"I'll see you soon," he muttered, leaving Naruto shocked at the fact his now first and second kiss had been stolen by someone he'd only known for about a week. The van swerved out of the drive, leaving the orphanage behind in its rear-view mirrors.

* * *

><p>Once again, for what felt like the thousandth time that day, Naruto sighed. The stars above him winked as he stalked down the road, money for milk in his hand. He still couldn't get the feeling of Sasuke's tongue on his lower lip off his mind, even though it had happened about ten hours ago. It forced Naruto to realise something: he had a crush on Sasuke Uchiha. Whilst he had come to this astounding revelation, he had missed the eyes that had followed his movements into the corner shop. He looked around for a bit at the sweets, knowing full well that should he spend the change, Iruka would go mad at him. He sighed and picked up the carton of milk and approached the counter. Behind it resided a very bored-looking person. Their hair was tied up into four blonde spiky pig-tails and she was fanning herself, despite the cold weather as the heating was turned up really high.<p>

"That'll be a quid," she told him, holding out her hand. Naruto placed the pound coin into her hand and was just about to leave when she called him back.

"Oi, kid, what's your name?" she asked, frowning. Naruto swallowed.

"N-Naruto," he stuttered. The girl smiled and held out her hand.

"The name's Temari. I see you come in often only usually when you do, you see my brother Kankuro," she explained. Naruto shook the girl's hand and she smiled before pulling him in closer.

"Watch your back," she muttered before smiling once more and waving him out. Naruto frowned at the strange warning but nevertheless waved back and exited the shop. By the time he had gotten the milk, it had started to snow quite heavily. Not wanting to be stuck in the blizzard, Naruto cut down a side alley to avoid the onslaught of snow. Just as he was about to exit, a man with glasses approached him and smiled. His hair was tied back, stopping it from whipping around his face.

"Hi there Naruto-kun!" he smiled. Naruto frowned, not too sure on how the man knew his name. Just before he could think, the man pulled out a rag and shoved it into Naruto's face.

"I'm doing an investigation. Can you tell me, does this cloth smell of chloroform to you?" he asked. Naruto leant forward and took a sniff but just as he did, it was clamped over his mouth and nose. That's when he blacked out.

Kabuto sighed at the boy's idiocy as he dragged him to the van that was waiting around the corner. If he was honest, he felt that it was a bit too easy for him to capture the blond. Now he had to radio in the next order. It was a shame that it had to happen really but it was a nuisance to Orochimaru and so it had to be done.

"This is Kilo-Alpha-Bravo-Uniform-Tango-Oscar calling in for the strike to be played. I repeat, strike, turkey, split." He relayed in code. The voice on the other end chuckled.

"Nice radioing skills there Kabuto. Honestly, this is useless. It's not as if anything else bad can happen after this. Kabuto chuckled.

"It is such a shame though. Oh well. Call it in." He relayed.

"Roger that," the voice replied. The sound of explosions could be heard all over the city and no-one could miss the fireball that erupted from a place near the edge of town where everyone knew Konoha Orphanage to be. Not even a raven haired teen by the name of Sasuke Uchiha could continue with what he was doing as the phone rang and he answered it, only to be met with panicked yelling.

His heart sank when he heard the yells of Cassie saying something he couldn't bear to hear.

"We can't find Naruto!" she'd yelled. The receiver dropped to the floor and Sasuke sank to his knees. Kakashi and Itachi walked in to see Sasuke shaking. Itachi was instantly by his brother's side and Kakashi was on the phone trying to calm down a sobbing Iruka. Itachi rubbed his brother's arms as he sat, shivering on the floor, panic and fear laced in his eyes.

"Naruto!" he choked out, tears then springing to his eyes. Itachi's own widened at the broken sound in his brother's voice.

At the orphanage, everything was in disarray. The rubble was burning around them as everyone frantically tried to escape the burning shrapnel. Kamari was searching around desperately for his brother whilst Cassie was ripping bricks apart searching for Gary. Konohamaru was sobbing whilst holding onto Iruka for support. Moegi, Hinata, Neji, Kiba and Udon were sitting down by his feet, unable to believe what had happened. Kamari had tears pouring down his face.

"KAORU!" he yelled out, still searching the rubble for his brother.

"No, no, no!" he moaned as he continued to come up empty handed. Cassie was in her own dilemma, not knowing what she should do.

"DAMN IT!" she screamed as she ran over to Kamari to help him search in that area. A shuffling of bricks caught their attention and they shakily made their way over to the small pile where the two boys were laying; Kaoru with a broken arm and Gary coughing up a small amount of blood.

"Shit!" Kamari cursed as he tried lifting his brother.

"Kao, are you okay? Talk to me!" he insisted as his brother started to stir in his arms. A small sigh of relief escaped his lips but Cassie was beyond relieved.

"Hang in there Gary, I'll get Tsunade. TSUNADE!" she yelled over her shoulder. The woman who had previously been occupied with sorting out Sai's burns hobbled over to where Gary and Kaoru were laying. She whistled over her shoulder and Iruka and Jiraiya appeared to help carry the two boys across and lay them down on the cool damp grass where the snow had started to lay. Kaoru was bleeding slightly, staining the snow a dark crimson as he was placed upon it. Gary was in a worse shape, struggling to keep his eyes open as he was laid in the snow. He was shaking slightly, convulsing as the fire department and ambulance services arrived.

* * *

><p><strong>Hahaha! I'm so evil :3 I feel like singing 'Feeling Good' by Muse now, but I'm listening to Coldplay instead *sigh* I'd had the Orphanage blowing up as one of my main plot points (I have three left that I HAVE to include) so, yeah ^^ I hope you guys felt the action there! So, at least you know a bit more about Deidara's condition and... SasuNaru ^3^ yeash, it's progressing (I'm one of those people who make it progress) Well, I really hope you enjoyed it! Next chapter will be out on Friday I think, if not, earlier! :D YAAAY!<strong>

**Ah, Naruto with your Chloroform. That part I actually RPed with my friend. It was hilarious. (only it was with Sasuke and Naruto and things after got naughty ^^)**

**NEXT TIME!  
>Sasuke is demanding the whereabouts of Naruto whilst the Orphans stay at Kakashi's place! Orochimaru's plans are further revealed but, wait, what the Hell's THAT?<strong>

**(**Did anyone get the Shaun of the Dead reference? :3 Also, the Yugi-oh Abridged movie quote there :3)

**Please Review!**


	7. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:** Thank you guys all so much for the brilliant support you've given me on this! For that, I'm aiming to make this chapter 10,000 words long! Yep, you heard me! It'll most probably get a bit confusing but damn it, I shall try for you guys! It can't be that bad though, it only took me 6 hours to 5000 so if I double it, it'll only take me twelve hours (if I have no breaks and naps in between) So, here I go!

**Disclaimer:** I own everything to do with Naruto for this evening! *waves around ownership papers* YES! *papers get blown away by gust of wind and land back with Misashi* NUU! D: I don't own him then *sigh* Juura and K2 are owned by Juura99 whilst Gary shall forever remain fighting in WWII for Fullmetal Gary. God times, good times!

**Warnings:** Well =w= heh. Some more SasuNaru (It's progressing :D) More drug experiments by Orochimaru. Monologue-ing villains, swearing, violence and just for this chapter...fuck loads of blood and gore! :D It may be written badly because I'm not that well. Even so, the rating for this chapter is going up to an 'M' for that part. I'll put a little '~*~' before it goes to it just in case you don't like that stuff! Well, HERE WE GO!

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><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

The hospital wasn't that busy at the time when they were brought in, a result being that they were seen to immediately. Apart from a collapsed lung and a broken arm- the worst cases- everyone was fine and escaped without much damage. Kamari sat by his brother's bed, looking at his twin as he slept onwards, arm in a sling on top of the bed sheets. He then glanced to Gary's bed which was next to his brother's. When the two were both awake, the air had shifted from depressed into awkward and guilty. Kamari had obviously tried to press his brother to tell him what had happened, the result being an angry Kaoru yelling at him, and so Kamari had fell silent.

Sasuke had been to visit Iruka along with Kakashi. Sasuke demanded to know where Naruto was, the end result was Iruka breaking down into tears after saying that he hadn't returned after he had been sent out to go get the milk for tomorrows porridge. The raven had paled after that and left the room, not wanting to know what had happened. Kakashi stayed with the brunet with an arm around his shoulder as the man tried to calm himself down. He looked devastated, brown eyes worn and bloodshot. The Orphanage had been bombed and its longest term resident had gone missing all within the space of three hours. Kakashi had been refusing to face it before but now he realised it was true.

There was now an outright war between them and Orochimaru.

The bombing had been the starting point, the hammer that hit the trigger. It was going too far. People could overlook a few disappearances around the area but to go as far as to destroy something that everyone held recognition to; it was a clear warning in Kakashi's eyes. Iruka had calmed himself slightly as he looked Kakashi in the eyes.

"What are we going to do now?" he whispered, hoping that the silver-haired man would have a solution. Coincidentally, he did. He gently rubbed Iruka's shoulders and smiled at the man.

"We have space at our place. Everyone can move into there." He supplied. Iruka's head snapped up and eternal gratitude swam in brown irises that seemed to tear up. He threw his arms around Kakashi's neck and pulled him in for a forceful hug. Kakashi blushed slightly at the contact but gently wrapped his arms around the brunet.

Itachi sat in Sakura's room with Cassie, just observing the ceiling.

"96," Cassie breathed out. Sakura smirked and Itachi tisked.

"53" Sakura corrected. Itachi coughed and looked towards both girls.

"You are both incorrect, there are actually 44 separate bones in the human skull at birth," he corrected. Cassie huffed whilst Sakura grinned.

"I was closest!" she cheered. Itachi smiled at her which in turn made her blush slightly. The door creaked open slightly and in came Sasuke. Itachi stood up instantly when he saw his little brother's exhausted posture. His hair looked mussed and his clothes dishevelled.

"Otouto, what's wrong?" he asked, walking over to Sasuke. Sasuke just shook his head.

"Naruto's missing. He never came back from the shops before the- the bombing," he whispered. Itachi frowned at his little brother as he sat down in a vacated chair.

"So he was never in the orphanage when it happened?" he asked curiously. Sasuke shook his head.

"Apparently not. But he never came back either." He whispered. Itachi sighed before flipping out his mobile.

"I'll get Jiraiya on it," he told his little brother, hoping to put an end to his fried nerves.

* * *

><p>It hurt to open his eyes. His head was spinning 360 degrees a second and there was an awful taste on his tongue. It kind of made his nose itch and it eventually dawned on him what it was.<p>

"HOW THE FUCK WAS I SO STUPID!" Naruto yelled into the space he was confined in. A dark chuckle came from his left and Naruto felt himself tense.

"Who the fuck are you?" he asked, still unable to work anything out due to the blinding white lights above his person. The chuckle sounded again and he felt a hand trail down his chest.

'_Holy shit, he's touching my fucking chest!_' Naruto internally screamed. On the outside however, he just squirmed and tried to get away. The hand was thankfully withdrawn from his torso and he tried not to let his relief show too much in fear that it would just return.

"Well, my weasels did good. As well as you Kabuto," the voice told another member.

"You're guaranteed a promotion," it continued. Naruto felt sick to his stomach. All of this for a promotion? What kind of sick person would agree to that? He also disliked the way that as soon as the other person had left the room, a sharp pain shot through his right arm. He felt a needle forcing it's way through his veins and injecting something into his system.

"Damn it, what did you just do!" he tried to yell, but it came out as a harsh pant. The lights went out, leaving him in darkness.

"Trust me Naruto-kun, it'll be better in the morning!" the voice whispered before the loud thunk of a metal lock being slid into place sounded. Naruto's breath came out in short pants. A cold sensation worked its way up his arm and he could feel it as it slowly froze his veins and arteries. The feeling of claustrophobia was immense as his wrists and ankles were bound to what he could only assume to be a hospital bed. It was too surreal for him. He was captured just after Sasuke had left? It was almost as if someone had told them where he was and what was going on. Briefly he wondered what was going on in the orphanage. Were they looking for him? What had happened? By the time his musings had wondered around to what Iruka would be making for dinner, the drug had made its way around his heart, plunging it into an icy coldness that made him shiver. All feeling from his waist downwards had disappeared as he lay there in the dark abyss, not knowing what to do. In all honesty, he was bored. Worried- don't get him wrong- but bored. He sighed and decided to hum a small tune. As he waited longer, he picked up volume throughout singing his songs. Eventually he got bored of that and decided to recite some of his favourite movies.

"-falling for your wife! You idiot!" he'd just yelled in the best impression ever when the door opened, spilling a beam of light across his captor. He really should have expected it yet here he was, in full shock.

"Orochimaru-bastard!" he yelled, trying to move his limbs to struggle, only to find out he couldn't. Orochimaru smirked at the boy's efforts but just chuckled.

"It seems my drug is improving," he told the blond. Naruto stopped struggling for a moment to glance up at his yellow eyed captor.

"Your what now?" he asked, confused as to why the supposedly evil leader of the world was researching a drug. If it was one that anesthetised the patient, surely that wasn't bad, was it? The chuckle sounded dry, like dead leaves scraping across the roadside in autumn. It was similar to a hiss, but not quite. Naruto briefly entertained himself with the idea that Orochimaru was kind of like Lord Voldemort from the Harry Potter movies. A smile almost graced his face at the thought, but he kept it down in fear of what would happen. Sure he couldn't feel a thing, but it didn't mean he couldn't die from a beating. It would just make it less painful. He felt as though he should just ignore the snake-bastard but as soon as he was about to shut his eyes and sleep, the man said something that caught his interest.

"I really did regret blowing that place up y'know," he told the blond. Blue eyes widened.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked him. Orochimaru chuckled.

"Why the orphanage of course. Shortly after you were captured, we sent the okay ahead for your home to be destroyed!" he smiled. A hollow feeling that had nothing to do with the drug settled in his stomach.

"You're lying!" he stated simply, nearing a shout. Orochimaru chuckled before showing Naruto some photographs of the destroyed orphanage. Tears filled the blue eyes of the teen who was strapped to the bed.

"N-no!" the broken protest slipped past his dry lips as he witnessed the photos before his eyes. Orochimaru smirked before taking something from a shelf nearby. It was the nine-tailed fox plush doll, ears singed a little but otherwise in good condition.

"Proof right here," he whispered, placing the plushie next to the blonde's head. Just as he was about to say something else, another needle was inserted into his arm. There was no pain but the sensation still felt weird. Orochimaru smirked.

"I can't believe I managed to capture you Naruto-kun. I imagine your parents would be turning in their graves right now with what I'm doing but it's their fault. They stepped in the way," he whispered before sitting down on the chair next to the bed with a clipboard, ready to take notes. It was then that Naruto realised that the first injection was an anaesthetic. It made no difference because no longer than five seconds after the second injection, pain laced its way through every part of his body. It felt as though someone had lit an unstoppable fire and made it trace its way through his veins. Sweat beaded his forehead as it pulsed throughout his small tan body. Orochimaru looked on with interest at the results. Naruto arched his back off the bed in pain as it travelled down his spine and hit his stomach, making him want to curl in on himself after just having to arch his back. The change of the places of pain made his body convulse into different positions as the drug travelled around his body. The sound of a pen scratching paper was heard over the groans of pain from the boy on the bed. Tan hands clenched into fists, drawing blood where the nails ran deep into his palms. Sweat mingled with the blood and dripped to the floor. The drug seemed to have thinned out his blood as it fell fast onto the floor just form the palm of his hands. Orochimaru made a sound akin to interest and the pen moved faster over the paper on the clipboard.

'_So this is what Sakura felt like_!' Naruto thought. He grit his teeth together when a particularly sharp bout of pain accumulated in his left arm, causing it to spasm. The door opened and in peered a blonde girl, carrying a tray. She was wearing a French maid dress, complete with bonnet and stockings, carrying a tray supporting a teapot, a cup and several sharp looking tools. The blonde paled as she saw what was going on in the room but kept her mouth shut as she had been told. Just as she was about to place the tray down, Naruto's arm spasmed once again, knocking her slightly off balance, but still holding onto the tray. Orochimaru grinned lecherously in her direction and she shuddered before bowing and exiting the room. The snake-man waltzed over to the instruments as Naruto tried to calm down, his breath once more coming in pants. The small crack of light from the window across the room caught on the sharp end of what looked like a wine opener. Blue pain-hazed eyes widened as he saw what the man was holding.

"N-no, please!" he begged, trying to get away from the man who was attaching something else to the device as he walked closer to the blonde.

"Just stay still Naruto-kun, this won't hurt at all, I promise!" he whispered. Somehow, Naruto didn't believe him.

~*~ **Start of Gore**

Orochimaru closed in on the blond and pressed the tip of the device to the blonde's now bare chest. Naruto swallowed, trying to rid himself of any mental activity, trying to turn his mind into a mental recess. A sharp pain above his left nipple drew his attention to what was going on and he cried out as he saw Orochimaru twisting the handle so the device rotated, digging into his flesh. Thin crimson blood spilt for the small hole as Orochimaru worked his way down. It ran faster as he got further near to the ribs. By this time Naruto was screaming in pain. It became almost supersonic when he felt his rib cartilage snap under the pressure, making the blood gush from the open wound. The resounding 'snap' echoed around the dark damp room, making it seem twenty times worse. Tears had long since dried up and Naruto was just taking his time in breathing. He needed to survive no matter what. His palms were still bleeding profusely at the abuse given to them by his nails but he seemed to care naught for them as he kept still, not wanting to make the intrusion worse. With a horrible 'schluck' sound, Orochimaru yanked the device out and threw it onto the tray before withdrawing a scalpel from the inside of his apron pocket. Naruto gulped and closed his eyes, not wanting to see what happened.

The sound of slicing flesh and the sting of a blade dragging down his torso alerted Naruto to the fact that he was being dissected- whilst still alive and without any anaesthetic. A whimper escaped his lips when he felt his skin being pulled away by hands and the latex appendages assaulting the inside of his body. Chancing his luck, he looked to see what was going on. He instantly wished he hadn't. Orochimaru was down to his elbow inside his body and seemed to be rummaging around for something that obviously wasn't his. A hand grasped his lungs and Naruto felt himself choke as the thin fingers squeezed them tight, releasing all the air from them. He threw his head back, panting at the intrusion of his body, wishing that it would all just end. He didn't get why his body didn't just pass out due to pain fluctuation. His intestines were then starting to spill from his stomach area and that's when Naruto realised just how long the cut must've been. Blood spilled onto the table as Orochimaru withdrew his arm, holding what he was searching for. Naruto was so glad that he'd never had his removed when he was younger otherwise all of that would've been for nothing. In Orochimaru's hand, rested his appendix.

~*~**End of Gore**

The feel of a needle through his body was the most welcoming feeling he could have at that moment. Orochimaru had run off, leaving his grey haired assistant to clean up the mess. Naruto had instantly recognised him as he walked through his 'dungeon' door. He kept quiet though, hoping not to be noticed. The thin thread ran up from his navel, around and to the top of his left nipple. There was going to be a massive scar there once it healed.

"You know, Naruto-kun, I didn't know he'd go this far," Kabuto explained as he stitched the boy up. Hazy eyes looked at the grey haired man.

"Huh?" he asked, confused and tired. Kabuto sighed and rubbed Naruto's forehead soothingly.

"He was never like this with anyone else I went to go fetch. The most he'd ever do was inject them," he whispered more to himself than to Naruto. The teen in question swallowed.

"Why am I so different?" he wheezed at the assistant. Blue met grey but nothing was shown in the latter's. He just voiced it.

"It's because you're an Uzumaki-Namikaze," he replied, sighing. After he had stitched the boy up and given him some refreshing iced water, he left the room for Naruto to muse on his thoughts.

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><p>Everyone minus Jiraiya was back at the cottage. The girls had disappeared to their room to talk about something that they wouldn't let the boys in on. Shikamaru was lazing outside under a willow tree, feet on Sai's lap as he sketched his surroundings; Chouji wasn't far away, picking some of the fruit from the orchard with Kiba and Neji by his side also helping. The dark blue haired man known as Kisame was sitting down near the Koi pond that resided towards the back of the huge, lush garden. Gary and Kaoru were sat on a pair of swings, talking about something in low voices. Kamari just sat on the grass, pulling out the substance as he sighed for what felt like the thirteenth time that day. He'd never felt so detached from his brother than in these past few days when Sasuke had shown up at the hospital. He was also spending a lot of time with Gary. When he had decided to ask his twin about it, he'd been treated coldly. He was starting to lose his brother and it was killing him. Deciding he'd had enough, he went inside to see what Sasuke, Itachi, Kakashi and Iruka were discussing. He plonked himself down at the table where the four were discussing an issue to do with Naruto.<p>

"Have you gotten any leads yet?" the younger redhead asked them with desperation. The sad sighs were the only answer he got but he frowned as he realised something.

"Have you guys asked the Sabaku siblings yet? They own the shop Naruto goes to when he buys the milk," he told them. Four sets of eyes rested on his pair of turquoise.

"What? Was it something I said?" he asked as he sat up. Kakashi looked ready to just about kiss the teen when he had suggested that and Sasuke had never felt so grateful that there was someone who knew Naruto well enough to know what shops he frequented. It was as if there was a hive of activity going on inside the cottage at that instant. All five of the people had jumped up at the same time to do different things. Kamari had whipped out his mobile phone to call Naruto's favourite sibling, Gaara; Sasuke was pulling on a pair of leather gloves and readying his pistol before tucking it into the back of his jeans; Itachi was doing similar to Sasuke apart from with more deadly weapons; Kakashi grabbed the car keys for the jeep that was out front whilst Iruka ran around making necessary preparations: blankets, first aid kit, instant ramen and, to much of everyone's surprise, he grabbed the .99mm pistol from the side and slid it into his belt. Kakashi spontaneously had a vision of Iruka putting on a pair of dark shades and assuming the 'Fuck Yeah!' pose. Much to his dismay, he just snatched the car keys from his hands and sprinted to the jeep, jumping in the front. The others left the house, not before Itachi told Kisame that they were going out. Kisame was still staring at the fish with a dreamy face before nodding. Kaoru looked up to see Kamari about to get into the Jeep too.

"Hey, Kam, where are you going bro?" he asked, jogging up to him. Kamari glare at him slightly, annoyed by his brother's bi-polar behaviour.

"None of your business Kaoru," he told his older brother before jumping into the back seat and slamming the door closed in the elders stunned face. No longer than five seconds later, they had sped out of the drive and were zooming down the snowy road. Within record time, they reached 'Sabaku's Supplies' and had entered the shop to see a man with scraggly brown hair and a cat hat on his head.

"Yo Kankuro!" Kamari supplied, noticing that the adults and Sasuke had no idea who he was. The man looked up and smiled at the redhead.

"Hey little K! What's up? I heard about the Orphanage. Everyone okay?" he asked, frowning. Kamari mirrored his look.

"Actually, they're not all okay. Naruto's missing." He told the brunet. Kankuro's eyes widened.

"Shit, have you told Gaara yet?" he asked, peering over his shoulder to see if the youngest sibling was sneaking up on him.

"Told me what?" came a voice from in front of the brunet. Kankuro jumped about a mile at the sight of his little brother suddenly appearing.

"Naruto's missing, Gaara. Who was on staff at about 8pm last night?" Kamari asked, ignoring the anxious vibes coming from the adults and Sasuke behind him. Gaara sighed and shook his head.

"That idiot's gone and gotten himself into trouble again. In answer to your question, Temari was on duty at your requested time last night. I'll go fetch her." Gaara told them before walking off to the door marked 'Staff Only'. Kamari sighed and turned to see how the elders were doing. Iruka was bursting to ask questions, Kakashi was looking around in interest at the shelves, Itachi was waiting patiently but what was most interesting, in Kamari's eyes, was Sasuke. The youngest Uchiha was trying his best to look stoic and uncaring, but he was nibbling slightly at his bottom lip and he kept on clenching then unclenching his fists. Not to mention the flash of concern that passed through his eyes every now and then. Gaara came back with Temari in tow before two minutes was up. Kamari nodded at the girl who nodded back, still fanning herself.

"Temari, what happened to Naruto last night?" Kamari asked. The blonde stuttered in her fanning and it fell to the floor. Sasuke's eyes widened at the reaction. She must've known something.

"D-did he not get back with you guys?" she asked. Kamari shook his head and Temari cursed.

"It must've been Kabuto. I told the idiot to watch his back but he just had to go and get kidnapped!" she stressed, pacing the space in front of the till. A small hand descended upon her shoulder and looked around to see Gaara with a sympathetic look on his face.

"It's okay Temari, we'll get the bastards anyway," he comforted his sister. Temari nodded and picked up her fan to start fiddling with it. Kamari nodded and voiced his thanks as they exited the shop, the redhead leading the way. They approached an alley and Kamari turned down it, knowing that Naruto usually took this shortcut sometimes. As the y got to the end, they found a discarded carton of milk.

"Bingo," Kamari muttered as he noticed the tracks that belonged to a Ford Transit leading off in only one possible direction. The newly built 'Research' centre. Sasuke smirked.

"Nice one little red," he commented. Kamari snorted before lightly shoving the younger Uchiha.

"Oh shut it duck-butt. I'm only helping you find your boyfriend," he smirked at the Uchiha. The adults shook their heads and headed towards the Jeep. They were going to collect Naruto.

* * *

><p>Juura stared at the front page with wide eyes. There, in colour, blown up, was a picture of the orphanage in ruins. She shook her head before pulling out her mobile and calling her speed-dial.<p>

"Yo Juu-Juu! 'Sup?" a voice asked. Juura sighed.

"Hey Kakashi, did the orphanage really get Hiroshima'ed?" she asked seriously. Kakashi sighed.

"They're all okay. They're staying out my place." He told her. Juura sighed in relief. The main issue she was thinking of was what had happened to the children. Thank goodness they were okay. She heard a brief car horn in the background on the other side of the phone.

"Kakashi, what's going on?" she asked, looking out of the window in time to see a Jeep speed past. Her left eye twitched. That was Kakashi's Jeep.

"Juura, I want you to go to my place and pick up Sakura, Shikamaru, Cassie, Gary and Kaoru. Leave the others in charge of the younger ones. We need to rescue Naruto!" he ordered over the phone.

"My car isn't that big Kakashi!" Juura complained.

"Then get Sasori to help then!" he persisted. Juura sighed and looked towards the room where Sasori was currently moping.

"He's being all emo though!" Juura pouted.

"JUURA KAMIZUKI! GET THOSE PEOPLE HERE IMMEDIATELY!" roared the voice on the other end. Juura rubbed her ear and frowned. She sighed once more.

"Fine! Where do we meet?" she asked.

"Konoha Research Facility." was the final statement before the grey haired man hung up. Juura stuck her tongue out at the now silent phone and approached the room where Sasori was moping. With a small- albeit nervous- chuckle, Juura pushed open the door.

"Alright Sasori, time to get your ass outta he-" she froze mid sentence with what she saw. Her right eye twitched and her nose started to itch. A warm, wet sensation escaped her nostril as she drunk in the sight of the two men on top of one another.

"Oh dear yaoi gods!" she whispered, trying to stem her nosebleed, even though the two weren't doing anything compromising but just staring her. Sasori looked bothered.

"What did you want Juura?" Sasori asked, pressing closer to the now awake Deidara.

"K-Kakashi-sensei requires our assistance in rescuing one of the group members. We need to pick some people up first and the Impala's too small." She strained. Sasori sighed and sat up, rubbing his head.

"Damn it," he muttered.

"Juura, give me a bad image please!" he moaned. This further set off the nosebleed but she shook it off by using the same image.

"Gai-sensei in a bikini, dancing The Nutcracker." She deadpanned. Everyone in the room shivered at that before Sasori finally stood up and grabbed his keys.

"We better hurry then. Don't blow anything up Dei," Sasori explained as he walked out the front door.

"What about blowing you?" Juura quipped. Sasori glared at her and she chuckled as she entered her car and the two sped off to Kakashi's place to pick up the teens. They arrived within two minutes to pick the rest of the team up, minus the ones who were to look after the younger ones. Cassie and Sakura jumped into Juura's car whilst Gary and Kaoru entered Sasori's. Before they departed, both adults quickly briefed the teens on what was going on. Once everyone understood, they were going at breakneck speed towards the research facility centre. When they got within fifty feet of the place, they slowed to a crawl to avoid suspicion and met up around near a back door. Sasuke's eyes widened when he saw Sasori.

"You!" he hissed, pointing to the redhead. Sasori then recognised him.

"You bastard! You made Deidara grab that vial! His prints were all over that! He could've died!" Sasori whisper yelled. Sasuke scoffed.

"It's not my fault he didn't think of wearing gloves when taking it!" he replied. A cough brought them both out of their bickering. Kakashi was there, looking annoyed as he surveyed the two.

"If you two could get over your pampering issues, we have a member to save here!" he hissed at the two of them. Kaoru looked towards his twin who was prepping a weapon opposite him. His eyes then travelled around to everyone. Iruka and Kakashi were prepping a weapon for each of them then passing them around. The cool weight of the metal pressed in his hands and weighed on his conscience. He glanced to Gary who seemed at home with the pistol in his hands as he expertly toyed with the parts, loosening them up. Cassie had a determined grin on her face and was talking Sakura through everything, trying to give her more confidence in the firearm she was holding. Sasuke was trying to remain calm, trying not to show how impatient he was to go in there, get Naruto out and kill Orochimaru. Itachi met his eyes and nodded, making a sinking feeling appear in the bottom of Kaoru's stomach. They had been chosen by Kakashi as the ones with the most field experience and the ones who had determination. Kaoru swallowed nervously but then steeled his eyes as he cocked his pistol. Kamari looked up to his twin to see that his expression in his eyes had changed. They were shining in that way that had him wanting to just close his eyes and never look into those eyes again. He braved it though. This was an important mission.

Kakashi looked up.

"Everyone ready?" he asked. Everyone nodded, Cassie with a grin in place. Kakashi half expected her to pull another Iruka with the shades and 'Fuck Yeah!' pose.

"I was born ready," Gary remarked before clicking his safety to fire. Kakashi nodded and they entered the building like the stealthy ninjas they were.

The first line of security was no problem. It was just a few small flicks of the wrist for Juura before they fell to the ground, Senbon needles in a critical place. Itachi had to admit, he was impressed. They made their way to the second line which proved a bit more difficult.

Three tall men stood there, blocking the door to the next room where they would have to go down to the basement. A simultaneous cocking was heard from the team as they all pointed their firearms at the security. Cassie started to gush.

"Oh my gosh, did you hear that? That was so cool and in sync!" she squealed, successfully distracting them so that the rest of the group shot at them. One of them, a man with silver hair and glasses dodged the bullet in time for it to go slamming into the door frame above his head. He smirked and pushed his glasses closer to his face.

"You're going the wrong way idiots. He's being kept somewhere different now," he smirked before disappearing through the door. The team groaned and formed a small circle.

"What do we do?" Kamari asked, gnawing at his bottom lip.

"We split into four different groups. Itachi, take Sasuke. I'll take Kaoru and Sakura. Iruka, you take Cassie and Kamari and Juura, you're with Gary and Sasori." Kakashi told the members. Everyone nodded and went to their respective teams. If you find Naruto: take him and get out as fast as you can because there's no guarantee that Orochimaru won't be around now that he's got him." Kakashi warned. They all nodded before taking off in different directions...

**Team Iruka**

Iruka took the left path, walking down a long corridor. Cassie and Kamari followed dutifully behind him, weapons poised and at the ready for any sign of attack. They checked in many rooms but came up empty handed. After a while, their guard had started to slip, making them less prepared for an attack.

"Hey, Kam, do you know what's gone on between Kaoru and Gary lately?" Cassie whispered as they walked down yet another corridor. Kamari sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, he's become so distant recently that I just don't know what to do!" he complained. Cassie sighed and her shoulders sagged.

"Right. It's just, they do seem really distant, I agree. But have you noticed how they seem almost guilty about something?" she contemplated. Kamari hummed in response after they had yet again, come across another empty room. The clicking of a hammer being set was loud in the empty corridor and Cassie spun round to see a shadowed figure pointing a weapon in their general direction.

"DUCK!" she yelled, pulling them both down as the man pulled the trigger. The bullet slammed into the wall behind where Kamari's head had just been. They rolled to the side and overturned a large table for shelter.

"Fudge!" Kamari cursed, still aware that Iruka could scold him for bad language. Iruka peered cautiously over the top to see the man reloading his magazine. The brunet took the opportunity and shot the man in his hand, making him drop the pistol, rendering him useless. He looked up and scowled in the general direction. Iruka's breath caught in his throat as he realised who the assailant was. It was his old High-school friend, Kotsobana Mizuki. He froze as he was about to pull the trigger to fire a shot to the man's chest. The silver haired man smirked and was just about to fire when a bang from the brunet's left caught his attention and Mizuki fell down, cradling his family jewels. Kamari and Cassie stood up, dragging Iruka with them.

"If you're gunna shoot then shoot; don't stare!" Kamari explained as they walked further down the corridor. Iruka was still in a daze as he was dragged down the corridor. Everything was going fine until three men blocked the end of the corridor. They went to back up, only to see that they had been cornered.

"Shit," Iruka breathed before the three of them were pumped with 3000 volts of electricity, knocking them out.

**Team Juura**

Juura's team took the path going to the right with Sasori and Gary following her movements. As soon as they went through the door, they were bombarded with enemy fire. Instantly, they dived to the floor and rolled behind an overturned desk.

"Shit! Sasori, chuck me The Bird!" Juura yelled. Sasori nodded before throwing her a clay bird which she only just caught from the position she was in. Gary watched with curiousity as Juura ripped off a small paper tag on the bird and threw it over the table.

"COVER YOUR EARS GARY!" she yelled. With just a few milliseconds to go, Gary had thrust his fingers into his ears to stop the explosion from deafening him. Sasori peeked over the edge of the table to see the remnants of the guards splattered on the purple wallpaper.

"I never did like purple," Sasori muttered, finger inching toward the trigger on his pistol; just in case. Gary was stunned. The two elders had just killed a group of people without batting an eyelash! He shook his head and continued to walk down the corridor, slightly behind the two adults. His finger was kept near the trigger.

Ten minutes of walking prove futile. It seemed that all of the defence was at the beginning of the corridors. Juura sighed, placing her hands in her pockets and half turned towards Sasori before a grin overtook her features.

"So Sasori, who tops?" she asked. Sasori glared at the blonde before a clicking alerted his attention. He sniffed at the air and turned to Gary who was looking at them strangely. Just as Gary took a step forward, a beep sounded from within the wall. Brown eyes widened.

"FUCK! GET DOWN!" Sasori yelled as he dived on top of the two younger people to shield them from the explosion. After the dust had settled, Gary and Juura looked up to see Sasori coughing a little blood.

"Sasori! Are you okay?" Juura asked, cupping the redhead's cheek and forcing him to look at her. He smiled weakly.

"I'm fine," he said, wiping a bit of blood from the corner of his mouth. Gary just stared in awe at the man who had just taken the heat of the explosion for him and a niggling in his gut known as guilt settled in. Without warning, the two boys were pulled into a massive hug by the blonde.

"You assholes!" she yelled, crushing them into her chest.

"Well, this is a shocking discovery!" a voice said.

"Kieran, how can you even think that's a good joke?" the other asked before the three turned around to see a blond man and a black haired man with glasses standing there with portable tazers.

"Would you say it's _shocking_ly bad?" the raven- obviously Kieran- joked. The other just shook his head.

"Moron, let's just get this over with," he replied before pressing the triggers on the tazer guns.

**Team Kakashi**

"And then you know what she said? She said that if I didn't get out the store, she'd call the police and charge sexual harassment!" whined the voice of Kaoru. Kakashi had taken the route straight ahead, following where the grey haired man had gone. So far they had yet to run into anyone at all. It was as if that whole area had been abandoned. After ten minutes, Kaoru had gotten bored and so had started to tell them about the time when he accidentally tripped on some ice in the supermarket and grabbed onto the nearest thing to save him. Unfortunately, that 'thing' had been a woman's skirt. Sakura just sighed and kept a lookout for any possible enemy sightings, as well as Kakashi.

"Ooh, did I tell you about the time that Kamari and I put one of Cassie's used pads on Naruto's underwear? Tsunade thought Naruto had started his man-period!" Kaoru burst out laughing at the memory of the prank. Kakashi sighed and Sakura turned to scold the teen when she saw something over his shoulder. Her eyes widened as she took aim and fired. A chip of plaster exploded from the corner of the wall. The two boys turned on the spot to see what had happened. Kaoru looked like he had wet his pants.

"IF YOU WANTED ME TO SHUT UP YOU COULD'VE JUST SAID! YOU DON'T HAVE TO BLOODY SHOOT ME!" Kaoru yelled, shaking his fist at Sakura. Sakura fisted Kaoru's shirt.

"Shut up you ass! I thought I saw someo-"

'_It's raining men! Hallelujah it's raining men!_'Three pairs of eyes swivelled to where a teen with white hair and sharp teeth stood looking sheepish. In one hand he held a portable tazer and in the other, a giant slushy.

"Um, hi?" he asked, slightly nervous at the fact his phone had gone off. He pulled out his phone and answered it. He turned away with it and started to argue with the person on the other end... who coincidentally also happened to be the one that Sakura had shot at it

"Okay, I get it! It's your fault for blowing your cover though! No, I'm not coming over there! Just come out now, they know we're here! Alright, bye! See you soon!" with a frustrated sigh, he put away his phone in his back pocket. He grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'm sorry about this. We won't delay you that much longer, we promise!" the teen promised, taking a sip of his slushy. Eventually, another teen ran up behind them, panting with two tazers, one in each hand. He had a black cape on and an orange swirl mask.

"I'm sorry Sui!" he gasped.

"I don't like dust so I had to go the long way!" he panted. Kakashi just stood there, confused to what was going on.

"Give me a sip of your slushy Sui! I've been a good boy!" the teen protested. Kaoru's jaw hung low after that statement and Sakura was beyond mind-fucked. The saner one- Sui, to use his nick-name- just sighed and gave the boy a slurp of his slushy. The must've been smiling after the mask because where the eye-hole was, it turned into an upside-down 'U'.

"Let's do this!" the masked teen yelled, aiming a tazer at Kakashi and Kaoru whilst 'Sui' aimed his at Sakura.

"Sweet dreams, guys!" 'Sui' told them before pulling the trigger.

**Itachi and Sasuke**

After everyone had chosen their respective routes, Itachi and Sasuke were left to travel up the spiral staircase. There had been a lot of steps and Sasuke was starting to feel a little dizzy by the time the top was in sight. He sighed in relief when he finally found a straight corridor.

"Thank kami!" he breathed and Itachi couldn't help but agree with that. As they walked along the corridor, they noticed something. All of the doors had windows so that you could see in them without having to enter with the risk of being shot.

As they progressed down the hall, it became apparent that Naruto wouldn't be resting in one of those rooms. Just as they were about to give up a small squeak came from behind them. The two brothers whipped around simultaneously to see the blonde maid standing there, holding the silver tray in front of her face for protection. Scalpels, tweezers, drills and other various torturous looking items (including the corkscrew one) fell to her feet from when she had placed the tray in front of herself. Sasuke paled as he saw that some of the instruments were caked with blood. Onyx looked into dusty lilac and saw the fear there. That's when he realised that she didn't belong here. She'd been forced too.

"Where's Naruto?" he asked. It was a simple question really, but not an emotional one. The other blonde had started to cry at the mention of Naruto's name. Sasuke felt the mass of dread settle in his stomach as he advanced closer to the girl.

"Take us to Naruto!" Sasuke demanded. The girl took a deep breath and nodded, grabbing Itachi's wrist once he had come close enough with one hand and Sasuke's with the other. She led them down a series of corridors until they came to a set of labelled double doors.

'WARNING: Keep Locked At All Times! Experiment: Kyuubi in Progress!'

Sasuke wanted to throw up at that. The female pushed her way through the door and instantly, the Uchihas' senses were overcome with the metallic smell of blood. As if in a trance, she led them to the double doors at the end. Just as she was about to enter, she felt the Uchiha in her right hand still. She turned to see that it was the younger one. She tried to smile gently at him but her teary eyes betrayed her. Sasuke swallowed as ready as he would ever be. He pushed through the double doors.

He still wasn't ready.

He threw up in the nearest bin, only to see it had crusty blood-stained gloves. Sasuke was shaking, his knuckles white where he was clutching the bin rim so tightly.

"Oh my god!" he gasped, trying not to heave anymore of his breakfast up.

"We were too late, weren't we?" Sasuke whispered, collapsing to his knees and sobbing into his jacket sleeve. Itachi approached the table where the blond was being held down by leather restraints. Most of his body was caked in dry blood, and the parts that weren't, there was visible violent bruising. Cuts adorned the body that had been stitched up with medical perfection. Itachi's guess was the grey haired man they had met downstairs. It looked like for every cut Orochimaru had made, it had been patched up by someone who knew how to stitch so that it wouldn't scar. Bravely, Itachi felt Naruto's neck for a pulse.

_Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud._

Itachi broke out into a smile before undoing the restraints on the blond.

"Sasuke, Naruto's okay, he has a pulse." Itachi explained to his brother. Sasuke looked up from where he had been in the arms of the motherly maid. He saw the genuine smile on his brother's face and felt the corners of his own mouth turning up too as he walked forward and the blonde was placed into his arms. Something wet hit Naruto's cheek as he was in Sasuke's arms and Itachi looked up to see that his brother was crying. Honest to god crying of happiness.

"C'mon, we need to meet up with the others outside and radio in that we've found Naruto," Itachi told his little brother who was just gazing at the blond in his arms with a small smile playing at his lips.

"I'm sorry guys, but you're not going anywhere!" three heads whipped around to see four people standing by the door. Three were holding tazers whilst the other one was the grey haired man. Itachi raised an eyebrow at him, secretly indicating the expert stitching on the blond. A deliberate and sly wink was made back in return. In a flash, Kabuto had pulled out a scalpel and slid it across the three men's throats in sync. Their bodies fell to the floor and Kabuto stepped towards Naruto, with a packet of baby wipes.

"It's best we get all this blood off of him before I wake him up," he muttered, about to wipe off the blood when a pale hand caught his wrist. He looked up to see Sasuke staring at him in disbelief as he still had the blond in his arms. Kabuto shrugged before handing the baby wipes to Sasuke who delicately but quickly managed to wiped the majority of blood away. Kabuto walked to the side of the room where Naruto's clothes had been kept, nice and clean. He handed them to Itachi before going to a filing cabinet and withdrew a small vial which he then pressed into Sasuke's hands.

"It'll revive him." He told the raven. Sasuke still held some doubt but seeing as he had just slit three people's throat (they were still creating puddles on the floor) for them, the part that said he was a good guy overrode the 'bad guy' vibes. Carefully, he opened the vial before tilting the blonde's head back and opening his mouth slightly. The electric blue liquid found its way down the blonde's throat in no time. Now they just had to wait for it to work. Barely five seconds later Naruto was upright and coughing. Sasuke held him steady as his body was wracked with coughs. He gently rubbed the blonde's back as they persisted.

"Finished dobe?" he asked after a couple of minutes. Naruto spun his head around so fast that he cricked his neck.

"Gyah! Teme that was your fault!" Naruto yelled, massaging his neck. Sasuke chuckled slightly before Itachi came up to him and gave him his clothes. That's when Naruto realised he was in nothing but his boxers. He flushed a bright red at that but decided against saying anything at that moment as he tugged on his orange shorts, black short-sleeved t-shirt and the jacket-more zip-up hoodie- that Sasuke had given him. Kabuto brought him his shoes and once he was all dressed, the five people made their way downstairs. Itachi persuaded Kabuto and Ino to go on without them as they were going to wait for the others.

That was until they greeted with the smell of chloroform.

* * *

><p>When the three of them came around, they were all tied with their hands above their heads with the knots of the rope nailed to a steak. Sasuke glanced over to Naruto and smirked.<p>

"Wow dobe, I never thought you'd look so sexy in rope," he winked. Naruto flushed red at that statement.

"T-teme! I could say the same for you!" he yelled back, unaware of their audience. Sasuke quirked an eyebrow.

"Really dobe? I think I look better when I'm the person tying you up with rope whilst you're on my bed beneath me and moaning my name asking for it ha-"

"OKAY WE GET IT!" Kamari yelled, smacking his head against the wooden post whilst Juura, Cassie and Sakura were all having nosebleeds at the image with nothing to stem the blood apart from-

"Honestly! I'd rather see Orochimaru get naked with Jiraiya than-" and that had done it.

"ENOUGH!" a voice yelled. Everyone looked up to see Orochimaru sitting on what looked like a throne.

"I wonder what the insurance is on that thing is!" muttered Iruka. Kakashi smirked.

"Go Compare!" he started to sing before a candlestick holder was launched at his person, embedding into the wooden steak. What surprised the group though, was not the insurance on the golden throne (complete with emerald snakes and built in cup/muffin holder) but the fact that two people stood beside it.

Gary and Kaoru.

Kamari looked up to his brother, betrayal and hurt clear in his features.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" Naruto yelled, looking to the two that stood so close to Orochimaru. Gary looked down as he felt the eyes drilling into his head but came up with an answer nonetheless.

"Someone has to survive to tell the tale," he shrugged.

Kaoru looked up and met Kamari's eyes.

"Kamari, I'll explain later." He told his twin. This time the tears fell down the younger's cheeks.

"YOU'RE AN ASSHOLE KAORU! I HATE YOU!" he screamed, sobbing into his own chest.

"You still expect me to listen to you after all of this? What the fuck? I hate you so fucking much! Were you the one to tell them everything? Have you been their spy this whole entire time?" he screamed, looking his brother in the eye that time. Kaoru swallowed slightly.

"What can I say? I enjoy living in this funky town!" he told his brother who then fell silent. Sakura was staring at Gary the whole time.

"B-but he helped save me!" she yelled. Disbelief was tearing at her heart now. Her parents had died, she had no family know and now she's being told that her saviour was her killer? She couldn't comprehend what was going on. Iruka's devastation was as clear as day. He had raised those children and now here they were, working on either side of the most evil man in the world. Kakashi and Itachi just looked normal for some reason. Naruto glanced to the two stoic males to see if they were hiding anything. He glanced to Sasuke. He was just as stoic as the other two. Juura was beyond furious.

"YOU LITTLE ASS RAT! YOU FUCKING FLIRT WITH ME WITH NO SHAME AND THEN DO THIS? WHAT THE HELL? I SWEAR TO GOD THAT IF I SEE YOU AGAIN AFTER THIS, I'LL CASTRATE YOU WILL A BLOODY RUSTY, PLASTIC, BLUNT SPORK YOU LITTLE ASS!" She breathed heavily after her rant to make sure nobody caught the small snicker that came out with the insult. For his part, Kaoru actually flinched at the threat.

"Juura, you can't get rusty plastic." Cassie told her. It was the first time she'd spoken since she'd woken up.

Orochimaru was watching the people turn on each other with interest until it got boring. He sighed at the endless bickering before he waved his hand.

"Guards, shoot the prisoners." He commanded. Everything went silent but this time, Gary broke it. Well, he more smashed it.

"YOU SAID THEY WOULDN'T GET HURT!" he yelled at the ruler of the world. Orochimaru smirked.

"Oh, did I? Well, this shall be fun then. Let's start with the little redhead shall we?" Before anything could happen, Kaoru was in Orochimaru's path, protecting his little brother.

"You lay one finger on him and you're dead you no-good stinking son of a Michael Jackson cosplayer!" he spat. Orochimaru smirked before pulling a Lugar and pressing it to Kaoru's temple.

"Kakashi! NOW!" Itachi and Iruka yelled in unison. Curious as to what was happening, Orochimaru turned to see Kakashi breaking the rope on the sharp candlestick holder he'd thrown earlier. Then there was the fist coming his way. During Orochimaru's distraction, Gary and Kaoru had run around the man to untie the rest of the group. Sakura was the only one still confused but Juura escorted her out of the premises and to the car where Ino and Kabuto were waiting.

"Look after her you idiots!" she scolded before running back in. Kabuto stood awkwardly between the two girls whom he'd had to seduce in order to get them to go with him in the first place.

"So, ladies. How about a double date when this is over?" he asked politely. The two of them squealed. It wasn't their fault they couldn't resist his British heritage!

Back in the building, Kakashi was still fighting Orochimaru, now with Itachi, Juura and Sasori's help. Despite the unfair advantage of more people, Orochimaru was highly skilled with a gun so kept all four of them on their feet at once. Naruto was still tied up, Sasuke kneeling between his legs as he tried to free his dobe.

"So dobe, after this is over, do you want to go on a date?" Sasuke asked, still trying to get the nail out of the post. Naruto scoffed.

"Is this really the time and placed to be discussing this, teme?" he asked, wiggling his hands a bit. Sasuke smirked.

"Well I could do other things. We are in a very compromising position right now but unfortunately all I can do is this!" and on that final word, he leant in and captured Naruto's lips on his own for their first proper kiss to which Naruto responded quite eagerly. Sasuke was just about to go further and ask for entrance but the whole floor shook, forcing the two of them apart.

"What the hell was that?" Naruto asked, panicked.

"A kiss," Sasuke replied cheekily. Naruto glared.

"As much as I loved that, I meant the massive shaking of the floor!" Naruto squeaked. Sasuke frowned, looking around to see that most people had stopped what they were doing. Cassie had been helping Gary walk to the fire exit after he had tripped and sprained his ankle when running to help untie the group. Kamari and Kaoru were already half way out the door to the car. Juura was trying to help Cassie who just insisted she was fine. Juura ran out as the ceiling began to cave. Iruka and Itachi were helping hold off Orochimaru whilst they got towards the door. They got out the first door and so Sasuke took that as their cue to leave. He was about to when he realised something. Naruto was still stuck to the stake. Sasuke tried to dislodge the nail with all his might when Cassie yelled something.

"Sasuke! It's wielded on! He wanted to keep Naruto here! Cut the rope!" she yelled, sliding him a sharp knife. A shot resounded around the room and a sharp yell as Sasuke began to cut into the rope.

"Sasuke!" Naruto sounded out of breath.

"Hang on Naruto, I've almost got it!" he reassured.

"No, Sasuke!" he was crying now. Sasuke was shocked and gently kissed his tears.

"Naruto, everything's going to be alright." He told the blonde, who just nodded. The rope gave way and Sasuke yanked Naruto up from around the waist before pulling him out of the front door as the rest of the building collapsed. Sasuke panted as he collapsed onto the grass, Naruto still pulled flush against his chest.

"Naruto, are you okay?" Sasuke whispered. There was a small nod from against his chest and he felt the teen grab the front of his shirt. Sasuke pulled away to see blood on Naruto's t-shirt.

"Naruto! You're-"

"No, it's not my blood!" he choked, pushing away from the raven.

"Iruka-sensei! Iruka-sensei!" Gary's panicked yells cut across the darkening sky. The two boys looked towards what was happening. Two people were sitting up, supported by the Impala only. A brunette and a redhead. Naruto swallowed. Cassie and Kamari were both leaning heavily on the Impala. Blood was pouring from a wound on both of their stomachs in the exact same places. Cassie was panting, the bullet having gone straight through her but only a few millimetres into Kamari.

"Heh, heh," Kamari was panting but looking at Cassie.

"You're an idiot, Sanu!" he told the girl. Cassie scoffed.

"Not as much as you, Kamizuki." She replied softly, ruffling red hair. Shakily, Naruto got to his feet and ran over to the two who were side by side.

"You'll survive, don't worry," she whispered, smiling at the teen. Kaoru was there, tears in his eyes and holding his twin's hand. He was shaking, badly. Gary was there too, sniffing at the whole ordeal of it.

"I-I don't think this can be treated. But hey, at least I'm h-holey, r-right?" she stuttered as her arm started to lose strength and not ruffle the dark red locks as much as she wanted to. A small hiccup forced blood to dribble down her chin from the corners of her mouth.

"I-Itachi, c-come h-here," she whispered. Itachi kneeled closer and Cassie pulled him in closer to whisper something to him. He pulled away and she was smiling, a bit of fear underlying her eyes, but smiling nonetheless. She looked back to Kamari and Kaoru.

"W-heh-we n-never g-g-got to p-p-p-prank Sasuke!" she joked. Kamari was having a thick bandage applied to his stomach as she was talking. More blood fell from her mouth and around her fingers.

"Sasuke?" she asked, with a bit more strength. The raven was surprised that she was even speaking to him. He gave her a quizzical look.

"Y-you better treasure that ass he's g-givin' ya!" she chuckled before it became too painful and she squinted her eyes closed.

"Ow," she breathed. Before leaning back against the Impala's wheel and claiming her hand back from Kamari's hair. A small smile formed as she cracked an eye open.

"If I'm dragging it out just say 'cause I- I don't wanna do it like in an anime," she whispered to Naruto. Naruto choked a bit and Cassie turned to Gary to see him crying. She smirked.

"Would ya look at that, it's raining," she exclaimed faintly before finally closing her eyes and becoming still. Kamari was sat in shock with Kaoru still by his side. Naruto was crying silently whilst Sasuke just looked on, with something akin to sadness in his heart. Sakura was almost as bad as Naruto was but managed to keep her tears at bay. Iruka was trying not to show anything but he had raised her since she was a baby. Kakashi had his arms around Iruka again, showing him silent support. Juura and Sasori watched with sadness. It was never pleasant to see a comrade die. But Itachi just stood there, watching.

Silently watching as the clouds rolled overhead, he stood, his brain turning over the words she'd told him in her final moments of life. They were life-changing of course. But then there was still the issue at hand that had to be dealt with. Itachi looked towards his baby brother, not knowing what he should tell him. He was busy comforting Naruto after all.

"How are we going to tell the others? What about the funeral?" Iruka asked the silver-haired man. Kakashi sighed and rubbed the shoulders of the grieving brunet.

"We'll think about the funeral later but I think the only way to get through to the others is to bring the body back with us." Kakashi told Iruka, who looked quite scared at the idea.

"B-but Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon; they're so young!" he protested. Kakashi sighed and fingered the eye-patch over his right eye.

"People deserve to know how their loved one passes," he told the brunet who was shaking. He nodded before going into the back of the Jeep and pulling out a few of the spare blankets. Cassie was wrapped up in them and placed in the back of the Jeep. They drove back slowly, not wanting to jostle Kamari's injury and make him worse. Naruto was leaning against Sasuke, cuddled up to his chest with their fingers linked. Sakura was fast asleep, head on Itachi's lap. Kabuto was talking quietly to Ino about how decomposition helped flowers and also asking what the best type of flower to put on someone's grave when you didn't know them that well.

Gary was sat next to Juura in the passenger seat of the Impala, gazing out of the window as the raindrops started to hit it. Juura looked to Gary.

"I take it that earlier you guys all had code words for danger." She observed. Gary nodded.

"Mine was 'Someone has to survive to tell the tale'. Kaoru's was 'Funky Town'." He replied with a slight smirk. Juura smirked too before a puzzling look was sent Gary's way.

"What was Cassie's?" she asked. Gary fully smirked at that.

" Codeword. She was way too confident that she wouldn't get into danger." He explained. Juura smirked, looking at the Jeep in front of them that was kicking up spray.

"So, what do you think happened to Orochimaru after that?" Juura asked, pushing in a cassette tape. Gary shrugged.

"No idea but I still have a bad feeling," he muttered as the opening chords of Coldplay struck out from the speakers. Juura nodded as she followed the Jeep back to Kakashi's place, unaware of the incient happening back at the site they had just abandoned. They had lost this round, but next time, they'd fight twice as hard and next time, they'd win!

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><p><strong>Hah. Hah. Nf\s,x;onr\bo\b;nrskdf\jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj *dies on keyboard* dear GOD that took me a whole night with no sleep to do that! Finished this bad boi at 7 am bro when I started it 11pm! BOW BEFORE ME! And it's just over 10,000 words! (excluding the Beginning and ending notes/warnings/disclaimers) Just in case you're wondering THIS IS NOT THE END!**

**Nope :) I left a very good plot hole in this and there be cookies for those who find it :3 So, did we like-eth this chapter-eth? I even gave you some good ol' fashioned gore! (I tried damn it!) Just to say, yeah, I'd planned on the whole 'Cassie death' since even before I posted this. The same with the 'Traitors' theme. So, yeah. PLEASE DON'T HATE ME! *bows before fans* Two updates in two days. Don't you feel loved?**

**I found something out too! I'm a hallucinogenic insomniac! (I think that's the right term) basically, I kept on seeing stuff in the room because I haven't slept ^^ I really jumped really violently when I thought I saw some dude walking up to me :/ So...**

**NEXT TIME... After the funeral, things look like they're going well for our two lover boys! But what happens when someone resurfaces who they thought was long gone? (no you twits, it isn't Cassie :P) What now? SHE TOLD YOU WHAT? Find out next time! Only on FanFiction! **

Don't forget to review!


	8. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:** Hey! This is the new chapter for 'Fighting Darkness' It's shorter than the last one; hell it's the shortest in this series but if you know your stuff, you'll guess what's going on :3 Happy Reading!

**Disclaimer**: Kao, Kam and Juu belong to Juura99. Gary belongs to Fullmetal Gary whilst Naruto and his posse are owned by Misashi Kishimoto

**Warning:** Swearing and shounen-ai (yaoi)oh, and angst.

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><p><strong>Chapter 7<strong>

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><p>The funeral took place on the Sunday the week after her death. The residents of the Orphanage as well as the Freedom Fighters stood by her gravestone. There were also a few other people like the Sabaku siblings, Ino, Kabuto and Kisame. Naruto sighed, clutching onto Sasuke's hand as if it were a lifeline to keep him grounded in the world that was currently covered in white snow. Kamari, Kaoru and Gary had been silent most of the time, just talking amongst themselves for the past week and Iruka was starting to fret. After all, Kamari blamed himself for the death. Had she not ran in front of him to stop the bullet from hitting him, it would've only gotten him and she wouldn't have died the way she did. The children were crying openly, clinging onto each other for support. Kiba, Hinata and Neji were respectfully silent, bowing their heads low. Sai was eerily silent, just staring at the inscription that had apparently described the girl he had grown up with. Shikamaru and Chouji were staring in disbelief at the headstone, not knowing how it had happened. They knew <em>how<em> it had happened, but Cassie was just a person they saw as the one to always be there to play DDR with or SingStar. She'd laze around in the garden sometimes or concoct a variety of meals for Chouji to try. Sakura stared blankly at the headstone, seeing nothing but the abbreviation of 'K.I.A'.

Itachi had been quiet. Too quiet- even for his standards. Kisame had woken every night for the past week to see his partner sitting up and staring off into space. The blue haired man was worried for his partner's health and tried to get him to take some sleeping pills to which the older Uchiha just declined the offer before smiling and lying back down to go to sleep.

The adults of the orphanage looked on with saddened faces as it was time to leave. When they arrived back to Kakashi's place, everyone went their separate ways. Kisame and Itachi went to sit by the Koi pond, Itachi still silent. Kakashi and Iruka were sat in the kitchen, cradling mugs of tea and coffee. Kamari and Kaoru were sitting in their room with Gary, basking in silence. Shikamaru, Chouji and Shino sat under the space of a tree. Moegi, Udon and Konohamaru were inside, sitting on their beds, just staring at the ceiling. Sasuke and Naruto were in the living room and sat on the sofa, hands joined.

"I don't get it," Naruto sighed. Sasuke looked to his boyfriend with a confused look.

"Dobe, I'm guessing you don't get a lot of things," he replied. Naruto glared at the Uchiha but there wasn't much power behind it. It was what he needed right now, stability.

"Teme! What I don't get is that in her final moments, she told Itachi something! What did she tell him?" he asked aloud. Sasuke frowned. Though he would never tell anyone, he was also wondering what the secret message was that needed to be passed on via Itachi and no the whole group.

"Well it's probably no-" His speech was interrupted by a squealing of tyres and the front door slamming open.

"WHAT THE HELL?" came a gruff yell from the hallway. Naruto spun round to see Jiraiya standing there looking enraged. Kakashi and Iruka came out from the kitchen to see the grey haired man.

"Jiraiya, what's wrong?" Iruka asked. He was instantly pinned by a glare.

"What's wrong? A child is dead, the Research Facility has fallen to the ground and you didn't even tell me you'd found a lead on Naruto!" I was out searching for a whole three days! Could you have not told me?" he yelled, making Iruka flinch. His rage was nothing when he turned to Naruto though.

"YOU!" he roared. "YOU'RE A FUCKING IDIOT! WHAT DID I TEACH YOU WHEN YOU WERE TWELVE, YOU INSOLENT LITTLE BRATTY FOOL!" he screamed. Obviously, the shouting had been loud enough so that everyone could hear him. People came rushing in to see what was going on to see Naruto being screeched at by Jiraiya and clinging onto Sasuke's hand for dear life. Itachi walked up to the seething man to calm him down.

"Jiraiya, calm down. It was my fault; I forgot to inform you. Everyone is safe now, do not fret." Itachi soothed. Jiraiya calmed a bit but he twitched. It captured everyone's attention.

"Everyone isn't safe. If anything, that little stunt you pulled has put you in more danger!" he barked. Kakashi's visible eye widened and Naruto tensed, leaning further towards Sasuke for comfort.

"What do you mean?" Itachi asked back, just as fiercely. Jiraiya sighed and rubbed his temples.

"Orochimaru survived the detonation." He replied.

"Detonation? Were you guys playing with bombs?" Tsunade asked sternly. Sasori and Juura glanced to one another. They'd only used the one grenade and so it shouldn't have caused that much damage.

"They must've been; the whole place was laced with explosives on a timer!" Jiraiya explained. Itachi and Kakashi blinked at one another.

"Hn, seems like someone was either trying to kill us, or help us out," he told the silver-haired man. Kakashi nodded.

"Let's just hope they were helping us out. We don't need any more drama than we have now." He implied to everyone. Naruto looked towards Sasuke with a look in his eye that the raven understood all too well. The two stood up and exited the room before going outside.

"What do you think teme?" Naruto asked, rounding on his boyfriend for his opinion. Sasuke smirked.

"Well, first I think that you have a nice ass, and then I think about what to do with that ass, followed by what the Hell could be going on." Sasuke finished seriously, aware that Naruto's patience was being tested to its limits. Naruto frowned into the distance. Sasuke stared at his boyfriend's contemplative face and leant in to capture his lips in a kiss. Naruto sighed and leant into it, slipping his eyes closed. The two broke apart about a minute later for air even though the kiss was chaste.

"You need to stop worrying so much dobe. I'm sure Itachi and Kakashi will figure out what's going on." He whispered, threading his fingers into golden locks in a way he knew would calm the blond down. Naruto nodded against Sasuke's chest and sighed before snaking his arms around the covered torso, initiating a tender embrace. Sasuke returned it, kissing the top of Naruto's head.

"Everything'll be fine, I promise." He whispered. He felt Naruto nod against his chest when a distant cough was heard. Both boys looked around to see Shikamaru, Chouji and Shino watching them. Naruto blushed slightly but it was dismissed when the lazy brunet ushered them over to where they were sitting. The pair walked over -Sasuke's arm around the blonde's waist- to see what they wanted. Shikamaru led them to the Koi pond where Itachi and Kisame had been earlier.

"I overheard a conversation between Itachi and Kisame," Shikamaru started. Naruto's eyes widened and Sasuke's grip tightened around Naruto.

"What was said?" Sasuke asked. Chouji sighed.

"There was a name mentioned, but it wasn't very clear," he told the two. Sasuke frowned whilst Naruto tilted his head to the side.

"What else?" Sasuke persisted.

"Nothing you should know about Otouto," came a voice from behind the two teens. Everyone jumped at the fact that Itachi had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Onyx eyes bored into the eyes of everyone around him as he surveyed them. Finally, Naruto decided to speak up.

"What did Cassie tell you?" he demanded, avoiding the phrase 'before she died'. Itachi looked towards him and Naruto could've sworn he saw a flash of was that fear? Naruto mentally shook his head. Itachi wasn't afraid of anything that he knew of. He looked towards Sasuke as if hoping to confirm that he hadn't seen that small flicker of fear. Sasuke looked a bit too pale, so he had obviously seen the flicker of emotion too.

"Chouji said a name was mentioned. Who?" Shikamaru asked. Itachi looked towards the brunet who was usually too lethargic to do anything as he actually made an attempt to weasel some information out of him. Itachi smirked.

"I'm sorry but that's classified information between me and the person who revealed the information," he said in a sickeningly mocking tone. A look of displeasure flashed across the facial features of Shikamaru.

"You mean Cassie," he replied, baring his teeth. Itachi nodded stiffly before looking towards the group of teenagers before him.

"I'm not telling you because it doesn't involve you. She did research on me and found out something she shouldn't have." He coolly replied. Sasuke glanced towards his older brother.

"What do you mean Aniki?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. Itachi actually chuckled.

"Foolish little brother, I'm not going to tell you. You were far too young to remember it anyway. I doubt you even remember him at all," he said coyly.

"So it's a guy." Came another voice. Gary was standing behind Itachi with Kamari and Kaoru.

"Oh yeah, because that totally lowers down the possibilities," Kaoru replied sarcastically. Gary shrugged before withdrawing a chocolate bar and beginning to unwrap it. Kamari hummed appreciatively before glancing to Itachi.

"Look, we all want to know what she said to you; it seems like a big secret. If you want to keep it, that's fine, but just know that there are other people she trusted besides you," he stated calmly. Shikamaru sighed and rubbed his temples.

"Kam, reverse psychology isn't going to work on him." He stated.

"DAMN!" was the only yell from the twin. Itachi snorted before walking away. He shoved his hands into his pockets, trying not to let it show that they were curled into fists.

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><p>The two of them were sat on top of the hill, contemplating what to do. One of them adjusted his goggles that were consistently mussing up his black hair whilst the other just scratched his cheek where stress lines were forming. The wind whipped their travelling cloaks harshly, making them appear as flags in a storm. They had chosen this destination to meet at but only one was going to that place. They'd meet up eventually, but not before they'd helped with the task at hand. After all, they needed the Uzumaki-Namikaze child for this whole plan to succeed otherwise they were worthless to him and then the whole plan would go to shreds. The one with goggles pulled out a mobile phone and looked at his screen, sighing when he realised there was no signal.<p>

"Stop moping would you? It's already depressing enough as it is!" the one without goggles snapped. The one with goggles just pouted and folded his arms across his chest.

"Well it's not my fault someone decided to kill the messenger!" he snapped back. Before they were aware of what was happening, they had started a brawl and were rolling around on the grassy hilltop. It then took a turn for the worse as they brawled a bit too far and started to roll down the hill.

"Now look what you've done, moron!" the one without the goggles yelled as they rolled at a surprisingly fast pace towards the bottom of the hill.

"It wasn't my fault! You need to control your temper!" the other practically wailed as they neared the river at the bottom of the hill. A splash broke the string of arguments as the two fell into the river. They sat up, the one without the goggles squirming slightly until a fish jumped out of his shirt. His companion laughed merrily at his predicament- until he was dunked under.

"Stupid lakes. They give me bad memories!" he complained. The one with goggles sighed nostalgically and patted his companion on the shoulder.

"There, there. It'll be okay." He grinned before standing up. His face blanched as he stared up at the huge hill they'd rolled down.

"Damn, my phone's still at the top!" he yelled. His companion came over to him and patted him on the shoulder- not to mention the huge grin on his face.

"There, there. It'll be okay."

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><p>Dinner was a quiet affair. Only the sound of cutlery clinking on china plates was heard as everyone was sitting in some part of the house and eating. Shikamaru, Sasuke and Naruto were all eating in their bedroom- the other occupants eating in the living room- and they were also discussing the events of earlier during the day. Shikamaru was sure he'd heard a name involving 'Uchiha' but from where he was positioned, it seemed unlikely that it was that name and so they'd been forced to move on to Itachi's next clue. The fact that it was personal and that Sasuke might not remember the person. That suggested that it was about an old friend of Itachi's that Sasuke rarely saw. But Sasuke couldn't remember Itachi having any friends until about five years ago when they'd started the whole rebellion and even then they were at most, business partners. Until Kisame came along, that is, and taught him how to love again.<p>

Sasuke was straining for answers and nobody else could think of anything- even the lazy genius had put in some effort, only for it to be futile. Sasuke sighed in resignation before deciding to take their plates to the kitchen and wash them up. After the tedious job had been done, he returned to his room to see Naruto yawning whilst reading his book. Shikamaru was napping on his bed without a care in the world and so Sasuke turned his attention to the blond.

"Why are you reading my book dobe?" he asked out of pure habit. Naruto looked up and shrugged.

"It looked interesting," he replied but a feeling of dread washed over him when he heard Sasuke chuckle.

"Do I not interest you, Naruto-kun?" he asked, leaning over the boy, plucking the book from his hands.

"Teme! I was just reading the part where Edward and Bella-"

"Dobe, I know for a fact that I don't have any 'Twilight' books," Sasuke growled before pinning the blond beneath him and kissing him senseless. The two broke away for air.

"Sasuke, Shikamaru's in the room!" Naruto whined at the raven. Sasuke suddenly stopped his ministrations to actually glare at the brunet who was happily snoozing on his bed.

"Well then dobe, you'll just have to be quiet!" Sasuke whispered. Naruto was about to protest when the door slammed open and Kaoru and Kamari came bundling in along with Gary- who was still eating a chocolate bar.

"Naruto-chan!" Kaoru squealed, jumping onto the blond whilst successfully managing to push the raven out of the way. Sasuke scowled at the older twin before turning his foul mood onto the younger one who had dissolved into a fit of giggles.

"I'm sorry, it's just that you sounded so sensual when you said that!" he snickered. Naruto blushed a rosewood colour before hiding under his covers and refusing to come out for the next half hour.

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><p>He was fuming. More than that, he was tectonic, as if the slightest tremor could set him off and cause wide-scale damage. His medic had betrayed him and his research centre had been destroyed (along with the golden throne encrusted with emerald serpents and a muffincup holder) but he had also lost the Uzumaki-Namikaze child. The only one he could use to complete his research. To know how to use the Namikaze-Uzumaki, he still needed two people and he knew just where they would be. The issue however, would be getting them onto his side- he had just killed their messenger after all, but he had warned them to not get other people involved but the idiot with the goggles just had to disagree.

5 miles away, the man with goggles sneezed.

"What was that?" asked the man without. The man with just shrugged.

"I feel oddly insulted for some reason," he one without just shook his head before they continued on their destination: Hatake Manor.

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><p><strong>I'm so sorry that this one's shorter but I'm practically collapsing at this moment and I need some sleep. Sorry guys, the next one'll be longer, I promise!<strong>


	9. Chapter 8

**Author's Note:** Woo! Another chapter ^_^ I really am sorry about the shortness of the last one but I was really about to pass out when I finished it. Seriously, as soon as I'd finished it, I laid down on my bed and after that, I just passed out without getting my PJs on. Hopefully this one will make up for it (Juura, you were correct with your guess ^^) Anyways, here's another chapter!

**Warnings:** Obviously you guys know that this is a shounen-ai by now so should I really be warning you? Now, violence, swearing, confusing plot-lines, blood :D Yes, I decided that I would: 'cause I iz a sadist. Also, I think that I'll be changing the rating to this to an 'M' now. Sorry for all you 'T' lovers (and not of the chamomile sort!)

**Disclaimer:** Again with this: Fullmetal Gary owns Gary; Juura99 owns Kaoru, Juura and Kamari and, I shit you not, all Naruto characters have labels on their asses saying 'Misashi Kishimoto' (seriously, with the Plushies I got for Christmas, they have labels on their asses saying that!) Anyways, on with the story :3

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><p><strong>Chapter 8 <strong>

The rain hammered the steamed up windows of the cottage. Despite it sounding like a small place, the building was pretty big. There were six bedrooms, three bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room, a dining room and a study. As you entered the drive/ front gate, you were met with the back garden as well as the cottage itself. Opposite the cottage was a huge hanger, under it, a small chalet which was used when a lot of guests were staying over.

Naruto was currently situated in the chalet, staring out of the window with a forlorn expression. Sasuke was in town with Itachi, picking something up for dinner. Blue eyes were glazed as he lingered on the thoughts of his boyfriend and he sighed whilst shaking his head. He felt like some sort of love-sick puppy following its master. A crashing at the chalet door brought him out of his musings and he snapped up to see Gary panting and hiding something under his jacket.

"Gary? What's wrong?" Naruto asked the brunet, scared that someone was trying to hurt the people he called family. The boy panted, dark green eyes looking around wildly as he shoved the unknown object into the blonde's tan hands. The blond blanched as he saw what it was.

Pocky.

"Uh, Gary, what is this?" Naruto asked blankly. Gary turned on him.

"You've gotta hide this from Kaoru; he's going nuts for it and I can't save it otherwise!" he begged. Naruto sighed and accepted the pocky without further question. Gary sighed in relief before collapsing onto the sofa that was situated in the room. The silence was strained and the only sound was the raindrops pounding the tin roof of the hanger the chalet was under. Something similar to the sound of thunder sounded from outside the chalet. The two boys looked up in time to see Kaoru throw the door open.

"WHICH OF YOU BASTARDS STOLE MY POCKY?" he roared. Naruto flinched and turned an accusing eye towards Gary who shrugged.

"I have no idea what you're talking about Kao-chan," he replied calmly. Neon green eyes bore into dark green and the temperature dropped about ten degrees. Eventually, Naruto saw it fit to give up.

"Gary stole it and gave it to me. Here ya go!" he said happily, handing the open packet to the redhead. The twin's face lit up in joy as he snuggled his pocky to his face.

"Oh my baby, I'll never leave you again!" he cooed. The other two sweat-dropped at the scene before the sound of tyres on gravel caught their attention. Naruto perked up immediately.

"Hey, Sasuke might be back!" he cried before running out into the rain. Only to be met with the disappointing sight of the Impala. Juura exited and saw the displeased look on the blonde's face. She chuckled slightly before going up to the front door of the cottage and knocking thrice. Iruka opened it almost immediately and ushered all of the guests in. Naruto had been so busy moping that he hadn't realised that Kiba, Hinata, Neji, Sasori and Deidara had been in the car too. Where the car was too small to accommodate 6 people, Hinata had had to occupy Kiba's lap for the journey and it was pretty safe to say that she was highly flushed. Kiba had loved the attention and it had taken all of his might to keep 'Little Kiba' at bay. Neji looked to his cousin's boyfriend in disdain. He hadn't really approved at first but then he realised that there was no-one other than himself that was perfect for Hinata's protector.

The rain drenched usually sunny locks as he stood in disappointment in the middle of the drive. A sigh to his left caught him off guard. It was Kisame, Itachi's boyfriend. Naruto looked up into the man's eyes to see them twinkling with mirth.

"It's always the Uchihas." He exclaimed knowingly. Naruto tilted his head to show that he didn't understand. Kisame gave him a toothy grin and turned back to looking wherever he was looking.

"Uchihas. They get what they want and when they have it, it's hard for the victim to let go," he explained omnisciently. Naruto surveyed the man for a moment before thinking back on all that had happened.

Ever since he had met Sasuke, the boy had constantly been on his mind. Realisation hit Naruto like a tonne of bricks and he felt his jaw drop.

"No way! We've been mind-raped Kisame!" he gasped. Kisame chuckled and patted Naruto on the head before going towards the house.

"No we haven't Naruto; it's just the Uchiha charm," he told the blond before walking inside. Naruto stood there for a few minutes thinking about Kisame had said. He shrugged, realising that it mustn't have been important. He entered the house to find Kiba sitting on the sofa, x-box remote in his hand and playing Dance Dance Revolution with the controller. Naruto snorted and shook his head.

"Dude, that's cheating. You need to use the dance mat." He told the dog lover. Kiba grinned at him before going back to the game where he was currently getting 'OK's and 'Good's. Kamari was watching him with a small smirk on his face whilst eating some of the pocky his brother hadn't managed to hide. Shikamaru and Chouji were in the corner, pouring over some paperwork that Naruto didn't understand. He approached the two anyways to see what it was about.

"What you two doing?" he asked, sitting in an unoccupied seat. Shikamaru yawned and rubbed his eyes whilst Chouji just sighed.

"Research," they replied simultaneously. Naruto blinked before grabbing a piece of the paper and observing the content what was on it. It was all about the Uchiha Massacre 15 years ago. Desperate, Naruto grabbed some more pages and started to franticly read more and more. Shikamaru fixed Chouji with a worried look as the blond let out something between a sob and a yell. The papers fell from his hand as he ran outside and into the chalet where Gary and Kaoru still resided. The two boys looked shocked at Naruto's sudden entrance but were even more shocked when the boy collapsed onto the sofa and started to sob. They were there in instant, their arms around his shoulders.

"What's wrong Naruto?" Kaoru asked, pocky hanging from his mouth. Gary squeezed the blonde's shoulders.

"Tell us what's wrong. Would you like some chocolate? It makes everyone feel better," he offered, taking out a chocolate bar from his back pocket. Naruto giggle-coughed at the two before wiping his eyes and sitting up slightly.

"It's okay guys," he smiled, still with a shaky voice. Kaoru sent Gary a worried look and Gary nodded, knowing what to do. Naruto felt the absence of Gary's arm and looked up to see the boy by the DVD player and TV that resided in the chalet. He was confused when Gary took out a DVD and placed it in the opening tray. The brunet turned around and smirked, hands on his hips.

"If you won't tell us what's wrong, then we'll just have to cheer you up. Although first we're watching 'Saving Private Ryan'," he told the blond sternly, dragging the quilt from one of the beds in the other room in the chalet and jumping on the sofa with it. He threw it gracelessly on top of everyone as the movie started up.

"Kao, get the lights!" Gary whined form the sofa and a sigh was heard.

"Lazy bugger," he complained before switching the lights off, dimming the room a bit.

As they got to the end of the movie, Gary was in near tears with Kaoru not far behind. Naruto however, was crying buckets.

"H-how could t-that-" he breathed, before wiping his eyes on the sheets.

"I know man, I know," Gary replied, walking up to the DVD player and removing the disk. During the time they were watching the movie, it had gotten darker but Sasuke and Itachi still weren't back from where they'd gone. Naruto sighed and looked towards the window. Kaoru noticed this and jumped up.

"My turn to pick!" he yelled as he jumped and ran over to the selection of DVDs. He giggled maniacally as he saw one of his all-time favourite films. The DVD case was splashed with red with a black background. He popped the disk into the DVD player and the three sat down on the sofa.

"Prepare to meet Leather-face, bitches!" Kaoru grinned as the opening credits to 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' started to roll. Half way through, Naruto had been reduced to a quivering wreck, trying to yank the sheets up over his head. At some point Kaoru had acquired popcorn and he and Gary were munching on it with interest, maybe a bit too fast seeing as Kaoru choked on a bit.

"This is the best part," Gary whispered as the man approached one of the last girls within the washing before the chainsaw descended upon her petite body, grinding it and allowing the contents to spray all over the white linen. Naruto squeaked and tried to hide further under the covers until near the end of the movie where the last girl had finally managed to escape and was walking down the road. Blue eyes widened in realisation at what was going on.

"She's like the chick from the beginning!" he snapped his fingers. Kaoru smirked.

"Exactly! Which is why there's a sequel!" he cheered. Naruto paled.

"We are not watching that!" he protested. Kaoru looked disappointed as Gary walked up to the DVD selection once more and went to pick out a film. Naruto sighed and the brunet looked to him.

"Naruto, what's wrong?" Gary asked, leaning against the wall. The blond looked up with an expression of defeat on his facial features.

"Shika and Chou were doing research on the Uchiha massacre but I happened to glance at a section," he whispered. Gary's eyes widened at that.

"It was the part about the Uzumaki-Namikazes, wasn't it?" Gary asked. Naruto nodded and looked towards the brunet.

"How did you know?" he asked. Gary sighed.

"Ever since we'd been at the orphanage, I was wondering about your past. You had an interesting last name and so I thought I'd Google it. The Wikipedia page about the Uchiha massacre came up and so I decided to read it. I didn't believe any of it at first but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense," Gary explained.

"You knew this whole time?" Naruto asked, fists clenched. Gary shrugged.

"I assumed you knew. I thought you were narcissistic enough to Google your own name. Everyone's done it at least once in their life- I'm surprised you hadn't." Gary replied honestly. Naruto sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"So the Orphanage was-"

"-was the Namikaze Manor; your home." Kaoru supplied. Naruto looked to him in shock. Kaoru shrugged.

"I've Googled everyone's name who lived at the orphanage. Did you know that Tsunade used to be a really famous medic until Orochimaru took over?" he supplied. Naruto frowned at that. Now that he thought about it, it would make sense seeing as the old hag would always know if they were faking an illness or something similar.

"Also, Iruka used to be a soldier in the front line. How d'ya think he got that scar?" Kaoru asked, pointing to his own nose to indicate 'that scar'. Naruto nodded, seeming to have calmed down a bit.

"Now! Let's watch Godzilla!" Gary exclaimed, taking out the DVD remake of the old video. Naruto chuckled but the sound of tyres caught his attention.

"Sasuke!" he called, running to the window to see if it was indeed his boyfriend. He cheered out when he saw that it was the Uchiha. He rushed out the chalet door to meet him, leaving Kaoru and Gary in the chalet. Gary tilted his head.

"I feel strangely abandoned, don't you Kaoru?" the brunet asked. Kaoru hummed in response before grinning.

"No matter, we'll get our revenge tonight!" he grinned manically.

Naruto rushed up to Sasuke and jumped on his boyfriend before kissing him passionately on the lips and wrapping his arms around the pale neck. Sasuke responded eagerly, securing his arms around the blonde's waist.

"I missed you," Naruto whispered. Sasuke chuckled slightly.

"Dobe, we were only gone for-"

"Nine hours, 27 minutes and 32 seconds," Itachi answered, watching the reunion with an amused twinkle in his eye which disappeared when he saw Kisame who looked murderous with a fish slice in his hand. Itachi grinned sheepishly and sweat-dropped at the look his boyfriend was giving him. Kakashi then chose that moment to exit the cottage.

"Ah, so this is where all the sexual tension is coming from!" he exclaimed, earning a double Uchiha glare. If Kakashi was any less of a man, he would've shrunk away and cried under his quilt for the next hour- that had happened to the last man who was on the receiving end of the glare. Instead, Kakashi just smiled and retreated back into the house to save himself from getting wet whilst everyone else helped unload the shopping from out of the car.

"Ramen?" Naruto asked as his boyfriend placed some shopping bags on the counter. Sasuke chuckled.

"Of course not. It's too unhealthy!" he protested with a grin on his face. The silence that followed was deafening. Kamari swallowed.

"No ramen? That's like not buying Kaoru pocky. You did buy pocky right?" Kamari asked. Itachi blanched.

"I thought you guys were joking when you put those items on the list." He told them honestly. The killing intent was suffocating at that moment and the two Uchihas turned to see Naruto and Kaoru seething.

"RAMEN! NOW!"

"POCKY! NOW!" was the synced shouting. The two ravens leant backwards. Iruka chuckled at the predicament, leaning against the doorframe.

"I wouldn't have put them on the list without a reason," he told Kakashi. Kakashi chuckled and smirked at the brunet where a blush sported his cheeks.

"Looks like we'll have to go back tomorrow," Kakashi told the brunet. Just then, Hinata entered, carrying a bowl of fruit from the garden.

"Uchiha-san, something's happened to the pond!" she told older raven breathlessly. Itachi frowned and Kisame perked up.

"Are the fish okay?" he asked instantly. Hinata shuddered.

"That's just the thing. They're-"

"DEAD! They're all dead!" Kisame yelled, near tears that his beloved Koi were dead. Itachi frowned and held his lover close as he took in the sight. The fish had been mangled and dragged to the water's edge where they were now sat at the bank. Shikamaru hummed in quiet analysis as he crouched down to assess the damage. His eyes widened slightly as he took something in. The fish hadn't been mangled by something as common as a fox; the cuts were deep and clean- as if they'd been made with a surgical knife. His eyes widened as he saw something else. A strand of long, black hair- too long to be Itachi's, too black to be Deidara's.

"What the Hell?" he muttered as he leant closer to the pond to be assaulted with the smell of rotten eggs. He drew back, covering his nose in disgust. Kiba was standing a way back with his hand over his nose too.

"Neji, did you just fart?" he asked, backing away from the brunet slightly. Neji's eye twitched.

"Kiba you fool, I would not do such vulgar things in public!" he retorted, hitting the brunet over the head. Shino looked around to see a spider's web without a spider in it.

"Strange," he muttered. Chouji looked towards his friend.

"What was that Shi?" he asked, munching on an ice cream (God knows why) as Shino surveyed the spider web.

"Usually the spider of this web would be out in such conditions. It's not here which suggests either a bigger predator or poison in the air." He explained calmly. Shikamaru's eyes widened and he backed away from the pond.

"Kisame-san, did you have puffer-fish in here too?" he asked, backing away from the water. Kisame looked up.

"Yeah, why?" he answered. Fear overtook the brunet's irises as he rounded on everyone who was present- which happened to be everyone.

"Nobody drink the tap water! Don't brush your teeth, don't wash your hands. Use bottled water." He ordered. Naruto flinched.

"What's going on Shika?" Naruto asked. Shikamaru sighed and glanced slightly towards the younger children. Juura looked towards Sasori and Deidara who nodded in return. Iruka was looking confused whilst Tsunade examined the water carefully, Shizune by her side, swiping a sample in a small test tube. Kaoru, Kamari and Gary were standing a way back as the smell intensified. Kiba was almost retching now, Hinata placing her hand on his back to calm him down. Sasuke and Naruto observed as calmly as they could whilst Shikamaru came to his conclusion.

"This is an assassination attempt. The puffer fish are missing and I'm guessing they'll be in the water supply. These fish were used as practice to see if the person could cut the right place in the puffer fish when the time came, releasing its deadly toxins- strong enough to kill us all with one sip of contaminated tap water! The smell of sulphur in the water is strong, suggesting that the pond has been contaminated with sulphuric acid to kill the fish in a way that their bodies would decompose before we could realise anything. Hinata, I wouldn't eat any of that fruit if I were you; the acidic fumes mixed with the humidity of the air may have seeped into the fruits, causing them to become toxic. Right now, we're all breathing in fumes, so I suggest we go inside immediately." Shikamaru told them. Nearly every mouth was agape at the fact that A. Shikamaru had spoken so much and for so long without uttering the word 'troublesome' and B. The fact that this was a clear assassination attempt on all of them. It seemed the enemy didn't care if small children got involved as Konohamaru, Udon and Moegi were shaking violently.

"C'mon guys, we need to get inside to stop inhaling the fumes. Sheesh, you're all so troublesome." He muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets and walking towards the house, keeping his eyes sharp as he did so.

* * *

><p>SMASH!<p>

The one with goggles rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and grinned whilst his companion remained stoic.

"Damn it!" Orochimaru seethed.

"You never said, did you get your phone back?" the one without goggles whispered. The one with the accessory nodded happily, lacing his hands behind his head.

"Yo boss, I think you need to stop unless you want to waste anymore of the drugs," he informed in a bored tone. Yellow eyes pinned red tinted and the latter pouted.

"I'm just saying. If you go all ape-shit on them, you're only going to complain later!" he reasoned. A barely audibly snort sounded from the goggled man's left. Orochimaru tensed and stalked up to the man and got into his face.

"You find something funny?" he snarled. The man shrugged and looked Orochimaru in the eyes.

"To be honest, yeah. I mean, you're yelling at everyone to get a move on with the drug but you keep on smashing the progressing product," he smirked.

"How is that funny?" Orochimaru hissed. The man shrugged.

"More ironic than funny but still, irony can be humour." He said sagely. The man to his right snorted.

"Yeah, because you can be so smart to say that," he teased. Orochimaru looked with confusion at the two's banter which didn't seem to be affected by his threats at all. They weren't taking him seriously. A sense of rage swept over the man as he grabbed a small dagger and threw it at the goggled man. It sliced his arm and his companion became enraged and worried at the same time.

"Obito!" he yelled, running over to his companion. The cut wasn't very deep but it was bleeding quite a bit. Cold red eyes were pinned on yellow.

"You bastard!" he hissed as he ripped off some of his cloak to use as a bandage. The man- Obito- hissed at the sting of the cut and applied more pressure through the bandage.

"What an ass!" he complained as if Orochimaru wasn't in the room with him. Orochimaru snarled.

"Say that again and I'll slice you like a sushi chef!" he spat. Obito looked up and smirked.

"Yeah, yeah Sushi-sama. Suigetsu would try to kill you," he smirked at his joke and so did his companion.

"That's if Tobi hasn't already dragged him out of here to go get McDonalds," the other joked. Orochimaru stared in disbelief at the two friends- one of them so clearly injured- who were just talking back to him as if he were a classmate in their school with whom he had been assigned a project with.

"Hm, I wonder if Sui would stick 'em if he saw the Fillet 'o' Fish," Obito wondered tapping his finger on his chin. His companion snorted.

"He wouldn't see it; Tobi would drag him to the play area whilst demanding the best toy from the Happy Meal!" he replied. Obito chuckled before full out laughing and wiping a tear away, using his good arm to move.

"Ah, Sui is forever Tobi's bitch," he chuckled. His companion chuckled at that too, unaware of the darker aura surrounding the doctor.

"FOOLS!" was the loud hiss that emitted from the mouth of the golden-eyed man. The two on the floor snapped out of their stupor to glance at the World Leader who- in their opinion- was losing his touch. His place had been blown to pieces and a few kids had managed to trick him and beat him around a bit. Albeit there were casualties and a fatality, but you couldn't think of those sorts of things in a war. Casualties and death were the norm in a war as big as this one was going to get. They were lucky that it had only been one so far and not two.

Orochimaru was seething once more at the two men on the floor. Despite how they acted, Obito was older than his companion, being 28, whilst the companion himself was only 23. Despite this, it was almost as if their roles were reversed, Obito being the one who was looked after. Such an example was in the next moment where Orochimaru rushed at the two, pulling out another small dagger. In a flash, Obito's companion had grabbed the one discarded from earlier and blocked the attack aimed at the older male's throat.

"You don't want to do that," he muttered darkly, shoving the other man's arm back and throwing the dagger aside. With a grace which could only have been attained from many years of practice, he grabbed Obito by his good arm and swung him on his back in a piggyback style before walking out of the large mansion. There was a small mutter by the ear of the companion.

"You didn't have to do that," Obito muttered. His companion smiled and just continued to walk down the front garden with the older- albeit smaller- male on his back.

"Hn, what sort of person would I be if I let you get your throat slit by that paedophile?" he replied omnisciently. Obito chuckled.

"Thank you Shisui."

* * *

><p>They were on lockdown. No-one was to exit the house without the supervision of a guardian and all water supplies had to be monitored. It was the third day. Kiba, Hinata, Neji, Juura, Sasori and Deidara had all gone home on the day when they'd found out about the contaminated water and promised to bring fresh supplies every day. They'd just left once more after wishing them luck. Shikamaru yawned and stretched out on the sofa, not seeming to mind the constant relaxing; although there was thing that was bothering him.<p>

"I miss the clouds," he sighed sadly as he looked up at the plain ceiling. Chouji snickered, munching on a strawberry- the boy had taken to eating healthy food since Juura had refused to buy any junk food, leaving the teen no choice. Sakura was texting Ino about god knows what and giggling every once in a while, then showing Moegi the text who giggled along with the pinkette. Shino had taken to haunting the kitchen and all the other rooms, looking for spiders to document whilst Sai just sat on the arm-chair opposite Naruto and Sasuke with his sketchpad out, glancing up to his secret subjects occasionally and sketching. Kamari and Kaoru were once again on Dance Dance Revolution. They had taken to doing it, progressing so that they were now able to do 'Heavy' with only a tiny bit of difficulty and were soon moving onto the 'Oni' difficulty. Naruto had joined in on occasion, much to Sasuke's delight as he got to watch his boyfriend sway his hips and move his backside to the suggestive beat of 'I'm Too Sexy'. Needless to say that after that Sasuke had needed to go into the bathroom and drench himself in a bottle of refrigerated water. Konohamaru and Udon had found a new hobby- it was called 'Who can annoy Sasuke the most'. Several times a day the two would pull pranks on the raven, resulting in him becoming frustrated and snappy. Gary had found a new past-time with the old chess set in the corner, playing games against himself and when the other felt like it- Shikamaru. Itachi and Kisame just lounged around the house as if nothing was different whilst Kakashi and Iruka spent much time cooped up together discussing something that was a mystery to the rest of the world- most probably the meaning of life. Tsunade and Shizune had been locked up in the study to try and find out a counter chemical to neutralise the water so that when it became humid, it could dispel the sulphuric acid fumes. So far they had drawn blank. The only other alternative was to wait for it to rain- which wasn't going to happen as it had now dropped below freezing and the most that they would get was hail, snow if they were lucky. Even if they did get snow though, they couldn't enjoy it as it would become contaminated.

That evening found the group doing their usual things only this time the arrows were far too slow and the drawings far too boring. Depression had set in as the outside world called for the teens. Sakura had stopped texting Ino about an hour ago and had taken to watching the twins on Dance Dance Revolution out of pure boredom. The three younger ones had gone to bed two hours ago and Naruto was snoozing on Sasuke's lap, worn out from doing nothing. The whole affair had a lethargic response to it, making everyone feel like they weren't doing enough.

It was on the fifth day when Naruto was struck ill. His fringe was plastered to his forehead with sweat and a red hue was permanently taking residence on his cheeks. His temperature was too high to be ignored and he was constantly tossing and turning in a restless sleep, sometimes screaming out due to the nightmares the fever produced. Sasuke watched as his boyfriend became sicker with each passing day. And eventually he could take it no more. Naruto had been put into isolation with no visitors apart from Tsunade who wore a protective mask when she entered and scrubbed herself with anti-septic when she exited. It was Christmas Eve when Sasuke snuck in and what he was met with was a heartbreaking sight. He knew that Naruto was ill but he was drenched with sweat, flushed and never still for a minute. Briefly, Sasuke remembered one time when the screams had been particularly bad and Tsunade had had to rush in and sedate the poor blond with a homemade tranquiliser. Never had Sasuke felt so useless as he approached Naruto and placed a hand on his sweaty forehead. It was burning up but at the cool touch of his hand, Naruto quietened slightly and leant into the touch, mewling at the comfort it brought. Sasuke was suddenly struck with an idea. He exited the room quietly and brought out a bottle of cold water from the fridge. Slowly, he made his way back to the room, grabbing a flannel along the way. He soaked the flannel in the freezing water- the fridge was really cold- and placed it to the blonde's forehead. Almost instantly Naruto stopped tossing and turning and his breathing started to ease out. Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief into the mask that was over his mouth. The blond on the bed made a content noise and a small smile overtook his lips, silencing any screaming that was going to appear. Gently, he lifted his boyfriend up by the small of his back and blue eyes opened slightly.

"'Ske?" he asked breathlessly. A small smile formed on the raven's lips, invisible due to the mask.

"Dobe, drink this," he whispered, pressing the bottle rim to dry lips. Shakily, Naruto drunk until all of the water was gone. Naruto panted, not having taken a break whilst drinking. He coughed slightly, bringing his hand up to his mouth. Blue eyes widened slightly and Sasuke looked worried.

"Naruto, what's wrong?" Sasuke asked. Naruto glanced to his boyfriend before smiling.

"Nothing, just a little hot is all!" he replied cheerfully. Sasuke nodded and slyly, without the raven realising, Naruto rubbed his hand on his orange pyjama trousers, leaving a red smear.

"Why are you wearing a mask, Sasuke?" Naruto asked. Onyx eyes widened as the Uchiha only just remembered what he was wearing. Sasuke sighed and poked the blonde's sweaty forehead.

"So I don't catch your lurgy." He replied simply. Naruto giggled slightly before sighing.

"I think it was just a repercussion of the drug," he replied honestly. Sasuke smirked.

"Ooh, big wor- wait, drug?" he asked, cutting off mid tease and ripping off the mouth mask so that his voice was more pronounced. Naruto flinched before turning to face Sasuke.

"When I was with Orochimaru, he injected me with a strong anaesthetic before injecting me with something else. It was so painful," Naruto flinched at the memory and was then reduced to shivers as he remembered what happened after that, touching the scar that was barely visible thanks to Kabuto's stitching.

"Naru-"

"And then he cut me open," Naruto whispered. Sasuke froze.

"W-what did you just say?" Sasuke asked, fists curling into a ball at his sides. Naruto shivered and Sasuke drew him in for a hug.

"He c-cut me o-open and t-took m-my a-p-pendix," he shivered whilst warm tears ran down his face and splashed onto the fabric of the sheets. Sasuke was shocked at the piece of news that was withheld from him and was about to question the blond when there were footsteps outside the door and it was pushed open. The newcomers continued to talk as if they hadn't seen the two boys awake and on the bed- which they most probably hadn't. Itachi and Kakashi were arguing over something and just as Itachi was going to grab the thermometer to test the blonde's temperature, he realised that the boy was awake and in Sasuke's arms. Shock overrode any previous emotions in the elder's onyx as he took in the sight before him. He then calmed down.

"Ah, Otouto, I thought I'd find you here when you weren't in your room. How did you get him to wake up?" Itachi asked, ignoring the silver-haired man who seemed fairly distressed. Sasuke eyed Kakashi before turning to face his brother, holding the flannel.

"I put a cool towel to his head. He woke up and I gave him some of the bottled water," Sasuke replied wearily.

"Didn't Tsunade think about doing that?" he asked. Itachi's eyes widened.

"Otouto, we've been doing that every day now only he wouldn't wake up to drink the water," he told his little brother. Naruto frowned.

"Every day? What's the date? How long have I been out?" he panicked, looking around the room, before coughing once more and clenching his fist as he brought his hand away from his mouth. Kakashi sighed.

"It's Christmas Eve Naruto. You've been out for five days now." Kakashi told the blond. Cerulean eyes widened.

"F-five days? It only feels like a few hours!" he protested, starting to hyperventilate. Itachi was there in an instant with an oxygen mask to calm the blond down with. Eventually Naruto was calm, a little flushed, but overall calm. Sasuke sighed and kissed Naruto on the cheek.

"I'm so glad you're awake," he whispered as he pulled Naruto into a hug. Weak tan arms wrapped themselves around the Uchiha and the fist was still clenched, unwilling to open. Naruto was afraid that if he did, the blood from his body would drip onto the sheets and stain the Uchiha's clothing.

* * *

><p><strong>Woo! How'd ya like THAT baby! XD It was 5,920 words long *sniff* I'm so proud! That's about 2.5x longer than the last one! So, the 'mysterious' people have been revealed (I'm inwardly praying that you guys remember who Shisui is) Also, whilst I'm here, I'd like to do a little advertising. Firstly, I have an original story out so if you enjoyed Cassie as a character, she's starring in an All New Horror story as a side character! :D Just go to my FictionPress, the link is on my Bio!<strong>

**NEXT TIME! Naruto's hiding something from Sasuke and he's getting annoyed, but how will Naruto take the news when he's told that- wait, who are these two strangers at the door? Why are they saying they're Uchiha's? But more importantly: why do they want to take Naruto away? Find out in the next chapter of Fighting Darkness! **


	10. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: **Okay, so I'm beginning this chapter in my RS class (God forbid my teacher find me writing this) and so I'm having to be quite the ninja XP Seriously though, you're lucky I'm starting this early for you guys. I was just gunna wait until the weekend, but I love you- so it's cool ^^ Well, no more delaying! I hope you guys enjoy this (extra-hopefully-) long chapter. I love you! (Yeah, I started this chapter on Thursday :/)

**Warnings:** Pfft, SasuNaru, angst, Itachi, soft violence, quotes, LEMON!=w= but yeah and swearing! So many warnings in this chapter XD

**Disclaimer:** My RS teacher says that I should source all information I've used. So, all Naruto characters are sourced to Misashi Kishimoto! Kamari, Kaoru and Juura are sourced to Juura99 whilst Gary is sourced to Fullmetal Gary.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9<strong>

It was now New Year's Day and Naruto was still feeling the after effects of the drug. Every now and then he would fall into a fit of coughs and draw his hand back to find it spotted with red. He'd hastily wash his hands and destroy the evidence of what had occurred the moments before. Sasuke of course, could sense that something bad was happening to his blond boyfriend and so after everyone had gone to bed and Naruto was drifting off beside him, Sasuke decided to ask him a question.

"Naruto, are you scared of germs?" the Uchiha asked curiously. Barely registering the conversation, a bleary blue eye cracked open.

"Nghuh?" he asked, confused at the sudden question and tired from the day's events which had consisted of Kaoru and Kamari running around with pocky and pranking the whole house. Gary had also had a helping hand at the fact that he was the one who'd bought the twins the supply. It wasn't until Juura had stepped in and bashed the twins head's together that they finally stopped.

"So, dobe, are you afraid of germs?" Sasuke repeated once more, sitting up beside his boyfriend. Shivering slightly at the sudden cold, Naruto sat up and pulled the blankets back around him.

"No, why do you ask?" he retorted. Sasuke frowned at the answer.

"You seem to be washing your hands after every single time you cough," Sasuke observed. Naruto fidgeted a bit but kept his gaze on his knees. He felt as though he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar- guilty.

"W-well, I've been wanting to make sure that I don't get ill again- seeing as the fumes are still in the air and everything," he replied quietly, not meeting onyx eyes. Sasuke glanced suspiciously at the blond for a moment before sighing and snuggling back down under the sheets with his back turned to the teen.

"Whatever," he replied irritably, knowing for a fact that Naruto wasn't telling him the truth. Hurt, Naruto settled back down, facing the opposite way to Sasuke before a series of shuddering coughs wracked through his body. He felt Sasuke tense beside him as he waited for the inevitable. Soon enough, Naruto sat back up and went into the bathroom to wash his hands. Little did Sasuke know that he was doing it to get rid of the blood -which was steadily growing in volume each time he coughed- off of his hands.

In the bathroom, Naruto was sitting on the white porcelain toilet seat, shaking. This time there had been quite a bit more blood. Hell, he was sure that some had dripped over the edge of his hands and splashed onto the bed-sheets and carpet on his way to the bathroom. He looked up into the mirror. Seeing that he still had a spot of blood on his lower lip, he wiped it away with his hand before going to wash the appendage again. He stood there in the bathroom in nothing but Sasuke's borrowed black t-shirt and his own orange boxers. It wasn't that he enjoyed lying to the raven; he just didn't want his partner to worry about what was going on with his body. Naruto didn't even know himself what was going on. Every day seemed to be getting blurrier- going faster- until he was sure that he couldn't remember what had happened yesterday. He just accepted anything the others said to be true. His stomach was constantly churning and he found it hard to keep his meals down, usually going into the bathroom when Sasuke was asleep to throw his dinner up. On one occasion- he remembered- Sasuke had walked in whilst he was throwing up his dinner. The dark haired boy had been concerned, rubbing the other's back as he threw up his ramen. After quickly reassuring his boyfriend, Naruto had flushed the toilet. There had been a lot of red.

Back in the bedroom, Sasuke was sat up and staring at the door to the en suit. Curious as to what his boyfriend was hiding, he crept out of the bed, sheets falling to the floor. His feet barely made a scuffing noise as he crept along to the porcelain haven. The white was reflecting the light brightly and Sasuke found himself squinting at the brightness. His hand stretched out to the door knob and he slowly pushed the door open as another wave of coughs sounded. Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise as he saw Naruto leaning over the sink, his arms struggling to keep him upright. In the reflection of the over-head mirror he observed that the once tan skin was bordering on pale.

"Naruto, are you okay?" Sasuke asked, coming closer. Blue eyes widened in surprise at being caught. From his position in front of the mirror, Naruto could see that Sasuke was paler than usual. As quick as a flash, Naruto had rinsed the sink and wiped his mouth before washing away the blood. The dregs of red swam down the plughole as Naruto wheeled around with a grin on his face, arms supporting him on the sink.

"Teme, I'm fine!" he grinned, completely erasing any evidence that he had been coughing half his lungs up a few seconds before. Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"Don't lie, dobe," he growled. Naruto's grin vanished as Sasuke advanced on him. Worried about what Sasuke would do when he approached him, Naruto did the only thing he could think of. He threw himself forward and pulled the Uchiha in for a deep kiss. Sasuke was surprised to say the least but kept up with the blond, pulling him closer by the waist. He swiped the other's lower lip with his tongue, politely asking for entrance to which Naruto gave him willingly, moaning into it at the same time. The pink appendage probed the inside of the blond's well known mouth that the other had become accustomed to exploring but never tired of wandering about in. There was a different taste though, slightly coppery; all thoughts of strange tastes were wiped from his mind when he felt his boyfriend grind slightly against him. Naruto felt Sasuke's hands travel down from his waist to slide behind and cup his backside, pulling him closer to him. Naruto smiled into the kiss, thankful that the Uchiha had stopped asking him questions. Just as Sasuke had slid his hands inside the back of Naruto's orange boxer shorts, the wearer felt a fit of coughs trying to force their way out. He frowned, trying to get rid of them- he was enjoying his time with Sasuke in the bathroom.

Sasuke felt the frown against his lips and opened one of his eyes which had slipped closed to see that the blond was shaking. He pulled away and at that instant, a tan hand shot to the kissed lips and started to catch the cough. Sasuke backed away slightly, worried as he started to see some red dripping from the hand.

"Naruto!" he yelled, coming up to his boyfriend and pulling his hand away as blood dribbled down the tan chin.

"C-crap!" Naruto stuttered as he coughed more of the red liquid up. In an instant, Sasuke had his hand on Naruto's back and leading him over the sink and squeezed the hand that wasn't covered in blood.

"I'm going to get Tsunade- don't move!" he ordered. Naruto snorted before coughing.

"As if I'd be able to go anywhere anyways," he replied with a weak grin. A kiss was pressed to his temple as the Uchiha fled from the bathroom and down the corridors to Tsunade's room. Sasuke pounded on the wooden object known as a door for about 30 seconds before it was thrown open followed by a grumpy looking blonde.

"What is it Uchiha? She asked.

"Naruto's coughing up a lot of blood!" he panted. Golden eyes widened at the revelation and she pulled on a dressing gown before following the raven to the bathroom. Never before had Sasuke been so worried about anything apart from his brother. They arrived at the bathroom to see Naruto leaning against the sink, unconscious with blood dripping down his chin. Onyx pupils dilated with fear as he rushed towards his unconscious boyfriend. Tsunade rushed over as well and shoved Sasuke out of the way before putting the blond in the recovery position, causing blood to spill out of his mouth that was covered with the other male's not so long ago. That's when Sasuke started shaking.

* * *

><p>"He'll need a lot of rest as well as antibiotics once every three six hours," Tsunade prescribed, pressing the small orange pills into the still shaking hand of the Uchiha.<p>

After several moments of CPR, Naruto had coughed up another handful of blood before breathing heavily. Sasuke had practically stuck himself to the blond's side since then, never letting him out of sight. Naruto had smiled slightly before looking confused.

As soon as Sasuke left the room, Naruto turned to Tsunade.

"Baa-chan, what happened?" he asked quietly. Tsunade sighed and looked towards the blond as he gazed into her own golden irises.

"You passed out after choking on a substantial amount of blood. Let me ask you something, Naruto. How long has this been going on for?" she quizzed. Naruto squirmed and looked towards the door that Sasuke had disappeared out of.

"S-since I woke up on Christmas Eve." He whispered. Tsunade's eyes widened slightly before she sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"Why didn't you tell us?" she replied. Naruto cast his eyes down to his knees before grabbing the edge of the blanket and fidgeting with it.

"I-I didn't want to worry anyone," he replied just as quietly as before. A weight rested on the edge of his bed and he looked up to see Tsunade sitting down.

"Naruto, I'm going to have to take some blood tests. I have a feeling that the drug you were injected with hasn't yet finished its course," she explained. Naruto swallowed as the older woman withdrew several syringes that needed to be filled with blood samples. In defeat, he rolled up his pyjama sleeve to allow the woman access. He winced slightly as he was pricked several times to withdraw blood. After she had finished, Tsunade stood up and observed her collection of samples.

"I'll get back to you with the results," she told him confidently- reverting back to her medic ways. Naruto nodded and laid back down into the soft cushions of his bed he was forced to have. He'd had to be separated from Sasuke in case it was infectious and if Naruto was honest, he was craving the black-haired teen- especially after their earlier session in the bathroom. A flush overtook his cheeks as he thought back to what had happened. A knocking at his door distracted him from his thoughts and he looked up.

"Come in," he replied weakly. The door opened slowly and a mop of blonde hair appeared. Blue eyes were clouded with confusion.

"Juura?" the male asked, confused as to why the woman would be visiting him. A small smile was twitching at her lips as she came in and closed the door. She sat on the edge of the bed in silence before finally it became too quiet for the blond male.

"So, uh, did you need anything?" he asked quietly, shifting a bit into a more comfortable position. She looked to him then away as if unsure how to go about what she was going to do.

"Naruto- you- you're ill, aren't you?" she asked. Naruto nodded and looked down to his sheets.

"And I'm guessing that you can't remember what happened yesterday," she added. Naruto hesitated before nodding. Juura sighed and smiled.

"Don't worry, it'll all be okay. Sooner or later Tsunade and Shizune will find a counter chemical and you'll be out of here. You'll be fine," she reassured once more before standing up and leaving. Naruto stared after her, jumping a bit as the automatic radio alarm went off, playing Ed Sheeran's 'Give me Love'. Naruto sighed before turning the volume down and settling under the blankets, intent on getting rest- just as Tsunade had said.

Outside, Sasuke was leaning against the wooden door, breathing heavily. Itachi walked out of his bedroom to see Sasuke sitting on the floor. With a sigh of sympathy, the older raven sat down beside his younger sibling.

"What's up Otouto?" he asked. Sasuke sighed stressfully before placing his head in his hands.

"I- I'm thinking of breaking up with Naruto," he confessed. Itachi's eyes widened.

"Why would you do that?" Itachi asked quietly, pretending that the confession hadn't unsettled him. Sasuke sighed once more before looking at something in the distance.

"Th-there's just too much baggage; he constantly needs looking after; he's clingy and to be honest, I just can't stick with him being so loud most of the time." He told the elder. Itachi almost glared at his brother but thought better of it. It was then that he realised that his younger brother looked ready to break down and cry- as if he didn't actually want to part with the blond that was beyond the door. His voice said he wanted it to end but his eyes juxtaposed his words infinitely.

"I suppose you'd better tell Naruto-kun all of this," he replied quietly before standing up and walking towards the kitchen. Sasuke sighed and stood up. He entered the room to see Naruto sleeping peacefully. A small frown overtook the features of the raven as he approached the bed and placed the antibiotics on the bedside table. He'd have to wait for Naruto to wake up before he could tell him anything. Apparently that wouldn't be long as the blond male shuffled a bit, the radio still playing lightly. A small smile overtook the tanned boy's face.

"Morning 'Suke," he whispered. Sasuke took a deep breath and hardened his eyes. Naruto sensed something was wrong and sat up a bit too fast, his vision swaying slightly but he made it better.

"Sasuke, what's wrong?" he asked, panicking. Sasuke flinched.

"Naruto, we need to talk," he replied. And what a talk it was to be.

* * *

><p>Obito was walking along the road, fiddling with his goggles.<p>

"Shisui, why couldn't we have at _least_ taken the bus!" he complained. Shisui sniffed and turned away.

"I thought you'd appreciate the exercise!" Shisui replied as they walked further down the country road, passing a field of cows and a lake. Shisui shuddered at the scene of the lake. Obito sighed.

"You're still hung up about that incident?" he asked, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. Shisui sighed.

"It's been what, ten years? I'm just a little apprehensive. But if the messenger did manage to get the fact out, he should be making the necessary preparations for us." He explained, trying to calm his fried nerves. Obito sighed before pulling Shisui into a hug.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I'm sure everything will be okay. This is a war remember- you need to keep a cool head." He reminded gently. He felt a small nod against him and arms come to wrap around his shoulders before breaking apart.

"Look man, I know this has to be so _hard_! But I want you to know: I'm here for you, you brave little soldier!" Obito sniffed. Shisui looked confused before a look of horror crossed his face as a hand cascaded onto his shoulder.

"No! Obito don-"

"I just want you to know that I _acknowledge_ your pain. C'mere!" he continued sincerely before pulling the taller male flush against his chest, making him stoop quiet low. He practically strangled the taller male as he wrapped his arms around his hand neck, stroking his hair and looking around.

"You're too precious for this world!" he continued. Shisui knew there was only one way out of the predicament. He patted Obito awkwardly on the back.

"T-thanks for the hug but uh, I'll be okay!" he assured his friend. Obito stepped back and nodded. Everything was silent until Shisui snickered and the two continued on their way, a cow mooing in the distance. Obito sighed nostalgically and stretched his arms behind his head, walking along the road.

"So, Obito, what went on with you and Kakashi?" Shisui asked. A flinch was noticed with the goggled Uchiha. He just sighed.

"Things got a bit rocky between us after Rin passed away," he explained. Shisui looked to the ground.

"I still can't believe it's been fifteen years since that," he whispered. Obito nodded.

"That's how Kakashi received his injury," he explained. Shisui looked to him as they continued walking.

"What happened?" he questioned. Obito sighed and looked towards the distance.

"We were out hiking one day in the woods when a random gang just jumped us. They had knives and we had nothing. One of them took Kakashi hostage and told Rin and I to give them all our stuff. Kakashi obviously told us not to but before he could say anything, they'd stabbed him in his left eye." He explained. Shisui nodded for him to continue.

"Rin was scared and tried to fight back but after a while, they'd managed to cut her pretty bad. I- I couldn't do anything! I- I let her die!" he choked. Shisui looked shocked as he saw the salty tracks start to fall down his companion's cheeks. Sighing in sympathy, Shisui placed a hand on Obito's shoulder. The smaller male turned to look at him and was surprised to see a gentle smile on his face.

"Hey, you did all that you could. She died with honour. I know for a fact that those men were sent by Orochimaru. I looked you up whilst in Orochimaru's lair." He consoled. Obito nodded and Shisui's face took on a dark look.

"I also know what's happening to the Uzumaki-Namikaze kid: it ain't gunna be pretty to see either," he added. Both looked ahead, surprised to see the cottage in the near distance. Shisui smirked.

"Wow, time sure flies by when you're reminiscing," he joked. Obito snorted and wiped his eyes.

"Yeah. Now let's go see what dear old Kakashi and Itachi have laid out for us," he replied, walking up to the front door. He was about to knock on it when he heard a yell and a smash from inside. The two Uchiha's looked to one another before looking back to the door.

"I wonder what's going on," Obito mumbled, about to knock on the door again when it was tore open in front of them, followed by a series of yells. Shisui and Obito were knocked aside as a blond came rushing outside and into a small chalet that was located near to the house. After the blond came two redheads and a brunet. There was also a resounding slap from within the house. Shisui looked to Obito.

"We have the worst timing ever," he smirked. Obito snorted before walking into the house and shutting the door carefully.

"Hello, we're here for a Mr Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Itachi!" Obito called. The elder Uchiha wheeled around on the spot and Kakashi looked up to see the two Uchihas standing in the doorway. Both had an identical look of shock on their face. In the background, Shisui recognised Sasuke with a red hand mark across his cheek, a blonde woman standing in front of him, her hand looking as though it had just crossed his face.

"Obito? Shisui?" Itachi asked uncertainly. The two just looked back to their long lost companions before grinning sheepishly.

"Bad timing?" they asked in sync.

"Terrible," both replied in the same manner. Iruka came rushing in along with Tsunade and Shizune.

"Kakashi, where's Naruto, Kaoru, Kamari and Gary? They shouldn't be outside until Tsunade's put the reverse chemical into the sprinkler system!" he gushed whilst Tsunade held a large bottle of liquid in her hand. Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"Naruto and his friends are currently residing in the chalet. I think Sasuke ought to tell you why," Kakashi replied before turning his attention to his guests once more. Itachi was staring at anything but the man in front of him.

"Oh c'mon Itachi- is it really such a pain in the ass seeing me again?" he asked humorously. Itachi looked up to see his best friend smiling at him- it was as if nothing had changed between them. Kakashi smirked at Obito as they both watched the other two Uchiha's struggle to come to terms that they were meeting. Eventually, Obito became bored and turned to Kakashi.

"So, I'm guessing you know why we're here," he told Kakashi. The grey haired man nodded and leant on his hands.

"You want to talk to Naruto about the drug he was injected with and quite possibly leave with you for further testing," Kakashi stated. All eyes in the room swivelled to Kakashi as he said this.

"No-one's taking Naruto anywhere!" Sasuke yelled, angrily stalking up to Obito. A snarl sounded from behind the raven.

"Shut up, prick! You lost your ability to protect him when you broke up with him not five minutes ago!" Juura spat, marching up to the youngest Uchiha.

"You WHAT?" yelled Iruka and Tsunade at the same time. Sasuke looked to both of them. Iruka looked disbelieving whilst Tsunade was looking at him with something akin to disappointment on her face. Sasuke huffed and crossed his arms.

"Can I not end a relationship?" he asked sceptically. Juura snorted and hit the raven over the head once more before snatching the counter-chemical from Tsunade, a mask from the side and walking out the front door to install it into the sprinkler system.

"So as I was saying, we would like to talk to Naruto-kun," Obito told Kakashi. The grey haired man rubbed his face and looked his friend in the eye.

"I'd give him an hour or two to calm down first," he replied. Obito nodded. Throughout the whole process, Shisui and Itachi had yet to speak a word to each other- each knowing what the other would say.

_I always knew Sasuke would turn out gay._

_Yeah, well, so did I._

* * *

><p>"Naruto!" Gary yelled, chasing after the blond male whilst being followed by the twins. The group had completely bypassed the chalet and now Naruto was running down the road which led away from the house. Blue eyes were blinded by tears and his lungs felt like Orochimaru had hold of them once more. He kept on running. He'd been such an idiot, thinking that it would've lasted. It only fuelled his desire to run even more and eventually Kamari and Kaoru fell back.<p>

"You're not getting away that easily!" Gary yelled, sprinting faster and catching up to his friend and grabbing his wrist, pulling him back in the progress. Naruto stumbled slightly before trying to pull his wrist back.

"Let go!" the blond yelled. Kaoru and Kamari had caught up, catching their breath. Gary spun Naruto around on the spot and grabbed his shoulders.

"NO! Naruto, get a hold of yourself, now!" Gary ordered, looking right into his friend's eyes. Naruto refused, shaking his head. Gary slapped him across the cheek.

"NARUTO! Get. A. Grip!" he snarled, hand back on his shoulders, shaking the blond slightly.

"I'm such an idiot!" he yelled back. Kaoru gently prised Gary's hands from the blond's shoulders and replaced them with his own.

"Listen Naruto, I know it hurts now but you'll get over it!" he assured. Naruto sniffed and hiccupped before falling to his knees.

"BUT I LOVED HIM!" he yelled, scrubbing at his eyes. It was Kamari's time to do the comforting. He knelt down to Naruto's level. Unfortunately for Kamari, he had to do two lots of comforting- having to replace the final stage that was usually someone else's job.

"Hey, look at me," he gently whispered, placing a hand on the blond's cheek that was red from the earlier hit and wet with tears. Naruto slowly looked up.

"I don't really care about that son of a bitch, but he made you cry so I'm not going to stand for that. I understand that you said you loved him- and I know you still do and that you're most likely not going to get over it properly. C'mon, look at me," he ordered when Naruto had tilted his head down. Blue eyes locked with turquoise.

"Can I just say one more thing? I'm not gunna say, y'know, 'there's plenty more fish in the sea'; I'm not gunna say 'if you love him let him go'; and I'm not gunna bombard you with clichés- but what I will say is this: it's not the end of the world," he finished. Naruto looked up, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

"I swear to God Kam that if a Zombie apocalypse starts up, I'm shoving you in first," he grinned weakly. Kamari smiled and helped Naruto up. Now there was the part of the comforting that no-one was used to- it was usually Cassie's job. Kamari stepped forward awkwardly and hugged the blond. A feeling of elation swept throughout Naruto's body as he held on tightly to the person hugging him, wishing that it was his now-ex. After a few minutes, Naruto pulled away and looked to his three friends who had helped him out of his fit of anger and sadness. He was still depressed about it- but he felt he could handle it a bit better. A beeping sounded from Kaoru's watch and he looked at it in surprise before pulling out a small bottle of medication.

"It's time to take your antibiotics Naruto," he explained. Naruto grinned.

"Yes mum," he exclaimed sarcastically, earning himself a hit over his head. With a bitter look on his face, Naruto swallowed the pills and looked down at the dirt road.

"I suppose we better be getting back to the house," he said quietly. Gary discreetly noticed how Naruto described it as a 'house' and not 'home' as he had once done when he was with Sasuke.

"Hey Naruto, we're here for you no matter what- we're your family," he told the blond before walking down the road and beckoning the others to follow- which they did.

As they walked down the dusty road, the three couldn't help but notice how forlorn Naruto looked- it was bound to be expected after all the things he and Sasuke had been through- but his look was of pure depression. He looked..._defeated_. They eventually arrived at the house to see that everyone was outside for a change. Tsunade and Shizune were looking triumphant as the sprinklers worked their magic, dispelling the poisonous gases. Sasuke was smirking and looked towards Naruto only to have the blond look away instantly. Shisui and Obito noticed this and sighed simultaneously.

"Well, he's calmed down now- may we talk to him?" Shisui asked Itachi. The elder Uchiha nodded and in an instant, the other Uchiha's had swept to Naruto and hoisted him from under the armpits, walking to the other end of the garden. Kaoru smirked and looked to Sasuke to see him seething at them handling Naruto. This confused the redhead and so whilst Naruto was being interrogated, he decided to do some interrogation of his own. He walked up to Sasuke and grabbed him at the elbow before dragging him into the chalet. Sasuke was cursing as he was being dragged away.

"Okay, spill." Kaoru ordered. Sasuke glared.

"What the fuck are you on about Kamizuki?" he asked frustrated. Kaoru glared.

"You know what I'm on about Uchiha! You break up with Naruto but you act as though you're still together! What the hell? Do you enjoy being a player?" Kaoru almost yelled. Sasuke growled.

"Listen dickwad, I didn't necessarily break up with him because I wanted to, I broke up with him because it was the smartest thing to do!" he growled. Kaoru scoffed.

"How am I meant to believe that?" he almost yelled at the dense raven. Sasuke snarled.

"The fact that he's an Uzumaki-Namikaze and affiliated with the Uchiha clan means bad things. He's currently incapacitated with a weakness which will just make him a target! I don't want him to get hurt!" he yelled, his voice cracking on the last word. Kaoru's eyes widened as he saw the unshed tears in Sasuke's eyes and he collapsed onto the sofa, Sasuke following suit.

"Fuck," they both hissed, not knowing what to do. Kaoru looked to the distressed Uchiha who was sat with his head in his hands.

"You really love him, don't you?" he asked the Uchiha. Sasuke sighed and nodded before looking to Kaoru.

"Kao, give me your word that you won't tell him why I broke up with him," he told the redheaded twin. Kaoru nodded before standing up.

"My word, Sasuke, that I shall never reveal the best of you? If you insist..." He said sincerely. Sasuke smirked.

"Will you guys ever stop quoting other things?" Kaoru smirked and turned back from the door which he was heading towards.

"Only when you stop loving Naruto," he replied with a smile. Sasuke snorted.

"That was so cheesy- but most probably true," he sighed with a smirk.

"You'd better believe it," Kaoru quipped. Sasuke's face then took on a thoughtful look.

"I'll tell him when the time comes," he whispered. Kaoru nodded.

"It better be soon- I've never seen him look so depressed," he told the raven before nodding and walking out the door.

* * *

><p>Naruto looked up at the two in front of him.<p>

"Who are you?" he asked curiously. Obito looked to Shisui.

"Well, I'm Obito Uchiha and this is Shisui Uchiha," Obito explained, fiddling with his goggles that sat atop his head. Naruto nodded.

"So what do you want?" he asked, crossing his arms across his chest. Obito and Shisui looked at one another and sighed.

"It's about the drug you were injected with. We'd like to take you back to our place and run some tests," Obito explained, explaining whilst making gestures with his hands. Naruto looked at the quizzically for a moment before he became sceptic.

"How do I know that you're not trying to kidnap me?" he asked, squinting. Shisui snorted.

"Yes, of course we'd kidnap you when both Itachi and Kakashi have our phone numbers and now know where we live," he replied sarcastically. Naruto blushed slightly before looking at the two.

"I- I guess it wouldn't hurt," he reluctantly agreed. Obito grinned.

"Sweet! Well, you'll need to pack your things and say goodbye because we're leaving this evening!" he exclaimed. Shisui looked towards the goggled man.

"This evening? What the hell, Obito? The plan was to get him and go!" he stressed. Obito grinned sheepishly.

"Kakashi practically begged me to stay for dinner. I heard that Kisame's going to be cooking lasagne!" he drooled. Shisui snarled.

"FOOL! It's awkward enough for me as it is!" he yelled, smacking the other male on the head. Naruto looked at the two with a sceptic eye. They were going to be conducting vital research? He didn't have a good feeling about it at all. He just shrugged and walked in the direction of his room to start packing for staying with the two crazy Uchihas. As he got into his room, he sighed depressingly. He'd been planning on moving out of this room earlier in the day after Sasuke had-

No, he couldn't think of that. Further tests were going to be done and he'd find out what was wrong with him. He nodded securely and continued packing things into a large orange rucksack. He'd just zipped it up and about to exit through the bedroom door when he ran into something. Blue locked with onyx for a split second before the blue became downcast, a blush appearing on the owner's cheeks. Naruto would never admit it but he felt humiliated. He'd allowed himself to become so involved with the Uchiha that he felt as if it were his fault that they broke up. He just continued but then a hand snatched his, linking their fingers. Heart skipping a beat, he turned around to see Sasuke looking at their entwined hands.

"I- I still want you Naruto, but it's for the best," he whispered before letting go and staring towards the window.

"Don't go with them," he whispered. Naruto tilted his head.

"Why not? They're going to find out what's wrong with me!" he protested, actually speaking to the Uchiha. Sasuke flinched at the slightly angry tone before turning on the spot and pulling his ex in for a kiss. At first Naruto struggled but soon melted into it, wrapping his arms around Sasuke's neck. They savoured the moment, Sasuke tenderly stroking Naruto's whiskered cheeks. They broke apart for a moment and Sasuke gazed into saddened blue eyes.

"Please stay," Sasuke whispered and Naruto nodded gently, holding onto the raven. Sasuke smiled slightly and Naruto returned it before it disappeared.

"We're not getting back together, are we?" he asked sadly. Sasuke flinched.

"I'd like to, but you're too much of a target already. To be affiliated with me just makes it worse," he explained. A defiant look took over Naruto's face.

"I don't care about that!" he yelled, grabbing Sasuke's hand as he went to turn away. A look of shock flitted across Sasuke's face.

"W-what?" he asked. Naruto pouted.

"You heard me teme! I don't care about what happens to me, I don't want this to be the end!" he said, stubbornly crossing his arms. Sasuke smiled slightly and looked down.

"You don't know what you're saying," he whispered. Naruto huffed and put his arms down to his sides.

"I do know what I'm saying. I don't care what happens to me. I love you Sasuke," he whispered. Sasuke's head snapped up at the confession and he looked at Naruto, seeing nothing but devotion, love and truth in the ocean pools.

"N-Naruto, what do you-" he was cut off by the blond pushing him down onto his bed and straddling him.

"I said I love you, you bastard! I'm not going to let anything come between us!" he exclaimed, crashing his lips onto his lover's. Sasuke was taken by surprise but eventually responded, pulling the blond closer by the hips, causing friction between the two of them. Panting, Naruto broke apart.

"We're wearing too many clothes," he whispered huskily before sitting up and pulling his top off and then his shorts, leaving him in just his orange boxers, encouraging Sasuke to do the same by tugging at the hem of his shirt. All too enthusiastically, Sasuke ripped his blue t-shirt off and then his black jeans, pulling Naruto back down by his shoulders for a more desperate and clashing kiss. Soon Sasuke had moved from his lover's mouth and too his neck, kissing and nibbling on his way down, making Naruto groan slightly. He flipped them over so that he was between Naruto's legs and on top of him. Enjoying this new position, Sasuke ground his hips against Naruto's causing the blond to gasp in pleasure whilst the raven sucked on his neck, leaving a large hickey.

"You're mine, Naruto, no-one else's," Sasuke growled, moving his hands sensually down to his newly-reinstated boyfriend's hips and stomach, earning a small moan from the one beneath him.

"I'm yours," Naruto whispered back, pulling Sasuke in for another more passionate kiss.

**WARNING! HERE BE CITRUS/SMUT!**

Their tongues danced with one another as they lay on the bed with one another. Another gasp came from the blond as Sasuke cupped his growing erection in his pants and the raven grinned on receiving the reaction.

"Do you want me, Naru?" he whispered once more. He saw the blond nod, his eyes squeezed closed as the male on top began to gently rub what his hands were grasping.

"Ngh, Sasuke!" he gasped, grinding his hips into the hand before grabbing his wrist and pulling it away. Sasuke was confused. Had he not wanted this? Hs answer came when Naruto sat up and pushed him onto the bed and pulled the raven's pants down revealing the large hard-on his boyfriend was now sporting. Naruto swallowed before covering it with his mouth. Sasuke gasped at the sensation of his manhood being surrounded by something wet and warm. He grasped at the bed-sheets and groaned when Naruto started to move up and down, his tongue performing tricks that even he himself couldn't have thought of in his wildest dreams.

"N-Naruto, go faster," he ordered and the blond happily complied and almost gasped when he felt Sasuke's hand in his hair, pulling him down further. Just as Sasuke was about to release, he pulled the blond away from him.

"I want to be inside you when I come," he whispered into his boyfriend's ear. Naruto shuddered at the tone, and groaned when he felt a hand once more on his groin.

"Do you want me to take you, Naru?" he whispered, nibbling on the earlobe that was so near his mouth.

"T-take me," Naruto whispered and instantly gasped when he was pushed back gently onto the bed. Sasuke smiled at the blond before kissing him gently on the mouth. He leaned over his boyfriend to the bedside table and withdrew a bottle of lube- being the hopeful he was before the whole breaking-up fiasco had begun- and squeezed some onto his fingers. Naruto looked warily at his boyfriend.

"Sasuke?" he asked nervously. Sasuke looked up and smiled reassuringly.

"It'll make it less painful, I promise. It'll hurt at first but it'll get better," he reassured. Naruto relaxed a bit more and nodded. Sasuke turned to him.

"Put your legs over my shoulders a minute," Sasuke told Naruto. The other willingly complied and Sasuke leant closer, inserting one finger into the pert hole. Naruto gasped slightly.

"Are you okay?" Sasuke asked. Naruto nodded.

"It doesn't feel too bad," he admitted. Sasuke smirked, adding a second finger before making some scissoring motions. There was a small groan from the teen beneath him and Sasuke looked down to see a small amount of discomfort on his face. Sasuke stroked the blond's cheek with his free hand and smiled.

"Get ready for the third one," he told him. Naruto nodded and whimpered a bit as the third finger was inserted. Sasuke shushed him with soothing kisses to the thighs that hung over his shoulders. Naruto stopped trembling before gently pushing down onto the fingers and moaning slightly.

"Sasuke, I want you," he moaned. Willingly, Sasuke pulled his fingers out- enjoying the moan of protest as he did so- before rubbing his hand over his erection, covering it in lube. He sat Naruto up near his lap, his tip posed at the entrance.

"You ready?" he whispered, kissing the blond on the side of the mouth. Naruto nodded in reply and gasped as Sasuke slid inside him. He winced slightly at the feeling and Sasuke gave him time to adjust.

"Sasuke, move. Now." Naruto ordered in a whisper. Sasuke pushed him down onto the bed before pulling out nearly all the way and thrusting back in. A loud moan emitted from the blond beneath him which just turned the raven on even more. He wanted to make more delicious sounds come from Naruto's mouth. He wanted to be the cause of the climax of the one beneath him. He wanted to be with this person no matter what. He loved him: unconditionally.

"I love you Naruto," he whispered as he thrust gently in and out of his boyfriend, causing short pants. A few tears escaped the eyes of the teen beneath him.

"I- I love you too Sasuke," he gasped and groaned loudly.

"D-do that again Sasuke!" he groaned. Knowing what had just happened, Sasuke angled his thrusts until he had the blond moaning for it harder and faster, almost screaming in pleasure.

"S-Sasuke, I think I'm going to-" he didn't finish his sentence before Sasuke had grabbed his erection and started pumping in time with his thrusts. The raven could feel the heat coiling in his abdomen as he watched Naruto's face look so flushed with pleasure.

"SASUKE!" Naruto yelled before he came, his seed spilling over Sasuke's hand. Sasuke couldn't hold on any longer, releasing his load into the blond. The two were panting, still coming down from their climax.

**Okay, straight guys can open their eyes now!**

"W-wow," Naruto panted and grinned at the raven haired teen that was still leaning over him; still inside him. Sasuke smiled before pulling out and lying down gently on top of his blond. In a moment of affection, Sasuke had taken Naruto's hand and kissed his knuckles before kissing his ring finger.

"I love you Naruto," he told the blond once more. Naruto smiled a blinding smile that contained a few tears.

"I love you too Sasuke- but I kinda need a shower- I feel sticky," he grinned. Sasuke smirked before kissing the blond's temple. Naruto sat up, Sasuke still leaning on him, and kissed him lightly on the lips. He winced slightly as he stood up. A whistle from the bed had Naruto glaring playfully.

"Teme, just don't jump me whilst I'm in the shower!" he yelled, walking into the en-suite bathroom. Sasuke chuckled.

"I make no promises!" he yelled before standing up himself and running into the bathroom with many protesting yells from the blond.

* * *

><p>It was awkward at dinner. Apparently Naruto had been pretty vocal and the whole house had had to evacuate at one point. Shisui and Obito sat there, glancing at both teens that seemed to be glowing.<p>

"So Naruto, you were bottom I take it?" Kaoru asked, causing Shikamaru to choke on his lasagne. Chouji patted him on the back. This one question had then encouraged the others to ask more.

"How big is Sasuke?"

"What position did you use?"

"Did you use protection?"

"So Naruto isn't dickless then?"

"Did you get it on tape?" asked an overly-eager Kakashi. Everyone looked at him and he shrugged.

"What? It could've sold for a lot!" he explained. Everyone sighed at his antics and Naruto just sat there, his cheeks a lovely shade of magenta. Obito and Shisui sighed- they realised that now Sasuke and Naruto were back together, Naruto wouldn't as be as willing to go with them for the testing. After all, they had Tsunade here who was a medical genius in her own respects. Kisame sighed and looked towards Itachi.

"Itachi-koi, do you think Sasuke'll be moving out soon?" he asked. Itachi frowned and looked towards his little brother. He knew that they couldn't live together forever but at this current time where Orochimaru was raging war against them, it was hard to let the youngest Uchiha out of sight. He contemplated his little brother's future and glanced around the table. Kabuto and Ino were seriously hitting it off, maybe even flirting and Sakura was now engaging Shisui into a deep conversation. Obito was talking good-naturedly to Kakashi and Iruka about- judging by Kakashi's blush and Obito's laugh- a highly embarrassing tale of youth. Konohamaru, Udon and Moegi were in their own little corner talking about whatever children did this day and age. Konohamaru was constantly glancing to Sasuke though as if afraid that he'd get up and eat him with the wrong look. Sasuke himself was eating his lasagne with one hand whilst the other was most probably on Naruto's knee in a comfort gesture. Naruto was talking enthusiastically to Gary about what he wanted to do when the whole thing was over- which included eating 20 litres of ramen in one sitting- and Kaoru and Kamari were gazing at the two lovers with evil grins on their faces, obviously planning a prank.

Once more Itachi sighed and looked to Kisame.

"Everyone's growing up so fast, aren't they," he smiled gently. Kisame smiled back, taking Itachi's hand.

"They all do eventually. You're gunna have to accept that one day Sasuke and Naruto are going to be living together doing the freaky-deaky every night," he grinned wickedly when Itachi shuddered.

"As much as I approve of Sasuke's relationship, doesn't mean I want to envision him having sex with another male," he replied. Kisame smirked and turned back to eating his dinner. Tsunade looked up from her diagrams that she had pulled out after finishing her dinner and Shizune looked worried.

"All right everyone shut your traps!" Tsunade yelled. Everyone fell silent at this and Sasuke took hold of Naruto's hand under the table. Tsunade looked to Kakashi who just nodded in return.

"I want to talk to you guys about attacking Orochimaru's fortress once more," she told them seriously. An eerie hush fell at the table- not even the scraping of cutlery was heard.

"Wh-what? I'm sorry it almost sounded as if you wanted to risk your lives going back to the place where Cassie-ane was shot!" Konohamaru growled as he stood up. Tsunade looked towards the small boy with shock.

"Konohamaru- kun!" she exclaimed. Konohamaru growled.

"No! I'll not sit by any longer! I could handle you guys sneaking off but it crossed the line as soon as Naruto-nii fell ill and Cassie-ane died!" he yelled. Moegi nodded fervently next to him and Udon folded his arms across his chest.

"We're teenagers, Tsunade-baa-chan! We can handle a little bit of rough-housing but if you guys go off without all of us one more time, we'll personally follow you!" Konohamaru ground out. Naruto smiled slightly at the brunet who had- in his scuffle- knocked his plate of lasagne to the floor. Tsunade smiled slightly.

"You really are Sarutobi's grandson. I'd expect nothing less than complete and utter obedience. This is dangerous," she warned the teenagers who just nodded in response. Shikamaru just yawned- emitting a small 'troublesome teenagers' as he did so. Kakashi sighed and stood up, gaining the attention of everyone in the room.

"I'll contact Sasori and the others after we've gone through this. We're going to attack in five days. There is no room for failure or distractions," he added the last part, smirking at the younger Uchiha who just held onto his boyfriend's hand tighter.

"The time of attack will be at twenty-one hundred hours- that's nine pm for you slow ones out there," he added. Naruto scowled as Kakashi looked at him. A small grin overtook the older man as he then turned to Obito and Shisui.

"You two will have to return without Naruto I'm afraid. Say that we've evacuated the area if you must but Orochimaru can't find out about our plans," he told them seriously. The two extra Uchiha's nodded in seriousness, Shisui catching Itachi's eye.

"Seeing as this is the first time the three youngest will be joining us, we'll make protecting them a priority, along with making sure that Naruto doesn't get captured. We may also need some extra help from outsiders," he relayed off. Naruto's head snapped up.

"We could get Gaara, Temari and Kankuro to help us," he exclaimed. Iruka looked up.

"That'd be great!" he exclaimed. Naruto grinned and pulled out his phone to text the redhead.

"We'll also have Jiraiya on our side this time!" Tsunade supplied. Kakashi nodded.

"Neji mentioned something about having a friend and his master wanting revenge. I'll give him a call later," Shikamaru spoke up, surprising everyone with his input. Sai hummed appreciatively.

"I guess I could rally up some old friends of mine," he mused, tapping a pencil against his chin.

"You have friends?" Gary asked, shocked. Sai shot him an irritated look before turning on the brunet.

"I have more friends than you do, sexy," Sai replied, winking at the now mortified boy. Kaoru snickered before turning to Kamari.

"I'm sure Stone and the gang would be interested," he quipped. Kamari nodded.

"God knows that Stone would be interested," he snickered.

"Ryoumen would follow you to the end of the world and back too!" he added, earning a hit over his head.

"Dude, that's just freaky!" he replied. Kamari snickered.

"Rooooad raaaage!" he sing-songed. Kaoru blushed before remaining silent. Kakashi smiled at the fact that everyone was willing to invite more people to storm the castle. Iruka also stood up.

"I have a few friends from college that'd most probably want to join in too," he added. Everyone was silent after that.

"Iruka-sensei has friends?" Moegi asked, tilting her head. Iruka blushed at that before growling.

"That's it- because of that none of you kids get pudding!" he roared, causing a few tears to be shed, courtesy of Naruto and Kaoru. Itachi chuckled.

"I also have some friends that would be interested," he added. Kakashi shook his head.

"How on earth are we all going to get down there without being noticed?" he mused aloud. Surprisingly, it was Naruto who came up with the solution.

"We could walk- camouflage ourselves," he suggested. Kakashi hummed in thought.

"That's not a bad idea," he admitted. Naruto grinned at the praise before turning to Sasuke. They had a much better chance this time and this time, they were going to win!

* * *

><p><strong>Gah! The ending was so rushed TT_TT Well, the smutlemon...THAT WAS MY FIRST EVER ONE! I've gotta say, I'm pretty damn proud at how it turned out too! Normally everyone's like "Gah my lemon sucked- it was my first attempt". Me? I'm more like: Holy shit I thought I did freaking epic! BOO YA! I suppose it helps when you do read quite a lot of lemons ^^; Not that I- uh read lemons constantly or anything XD Seriously though... only a few chapters left until the end...** (¬¬ **I have a good feeling about this fic- this has been my longest standing one and I'm so proud of it! I don't care if people say it sucks, I love it! I also loved my lemon! I'm so proud of myself right now! *cries Gai-sensei tears* I also made it a treat by writing 8,000 words! XD YESH!**

**Next Time!**

_As the Freedom Fighters reach the deadline for the final fight, something's happening to Naruto- something strange. Shisui and Obito fear they may have been too late to rescue the boy. One thing is clear- Experiment Kyuubi is now in progress._


	11. Chapter 10

**Author's Note:** *sniff* Oh god, I've just been watching the newest episodes of Naruto… I bawled my eyes out to be perfectly honest TT_TT I can now see why so many people hate Madara- that little fucker! Although on the bright side I can never seem to stop laughing at the opening with that one shot of Killer Bee. Dear freaking Ramen Kings! I laughed so hard I could actually taste blood! But yeah, this is a week early so I hope you guys enjoy it XD

**Warnings:** You all know about the yaoi XD I think Obito and Shisui deserve a warning :3 Uhh, violence, blood, swearing- this is a big part after all! Hell, it wouldn't surprise me if this turned out to be over 10,000 words long! So, yeah, you might cry and hate me as well- HAVE SOME TISSUES READY, BITCHES!

**Disclaimer:** Ahem, sorry about that bit- so yeah- I don't own anyone in this fic apart from a couple extras that you'll meet. Fullmetal Gary owns Gary, Juura99 owns Kam, Kao, Juura, Stone, Ryoumen, Mizuru, Jinko and whoever else of hers I decide to put in =w= Misashi Kishimoto is the pimp to all the Naruto bitches. Trust me, after this chapter, you'll be glad I don't own them!

And now, a small message from Kaoru! Take the stage, sweetheart! *is shoved out of way by fuming Kaoru*

Kaoru: ALL ROMANTICISM BETWEEN ME AND RYOUMEN IS PURELY FOR THE SAKE OF THE STORY...because I'd rather die than be romantically involved with him otherwise. *stomps away, red in the face and grumbling about unfair yaoism*

Victory! XD

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10<strong>

_A rustling was heard in the background and he whipped his head around to see what it was._

"_Hello? Who's there?" he yelled into the darkness. A chuckle was heard, loud against the silence that threatened to engulf his whole being. A shiver made its way down his spine as he recognized the chuckled and who it belonged to. A stabbing pain in his neck, a hand over his mouth; an injection to his arm. _

_He felt everything as he fell to the floor, convulsing, shivering, certain he was dying. He called out, hoping for someone to hear him. This couldn't be happening. His eyes stung; but it wasn't from tears. His mind went blank; but it wasn't from unconsciousness. There was only one way to describe this feeling:_

_He was being possessed._

Naruto sat up, panting slightly at the weird dream that had just come forth in his mind. He looked around frantically, just to double check that he was in bed with Sasuke and not back in Orochimaru's lair. He looked to his left to see Sasuke sound asleep, one hand under his pillow and the other which had recently come free of Naruto's own. The blond sighed and settled back down, shivering slightly as he pressed himself closer to his lover. Sasuke's skin felt warm to the touch and he rubbed his hands up and down the toned chest, trying to get heat into his hand. The raven stirred and cracked a sleep hazed eye open.

"Naruto?" he yawned in question. Naruto nodded and looked to his boyfriend.

"Sorry for waking you Sasuke," he whispered. The raven in question just smiled slightly and shifted closer, pulling the blond into his arms.

"It's okay. What's wrong?" he asked, pressing a soft kiss to Naruto's forehead. The response was a sigh followed by the tightening of arms around the midsection of the raven.

"I had a strange dream," he admitted. Sasuke hummed in thought before pressing another soft kiss to the temple of his precious person.

"Don't worry about it. It was just a dream," he reassured, closing his eyes once more and trying to convince the blond to go back to sleep too. It was three in the morning, so the clock said, but Naruto still couldn't rest, even as Sasuke tried to reassure him into the unconscious bliss that was sleep. His counterpart fell asleep eventually but he stayed awake in his arms, contemplating what he had dreamed about. He couldn't think properly whilst wrapped in Sasuke's arms and so he waited until the raven was fully asleep before slipping out and replacing his body with a pillow. He crept along the halls until he arrived at the front door.

Quiet as a mouse, he pulled the handle down and stepped outside into the chilly January air. The soft wind nipped slightly at his cheeks as he stared up at the thousands of stars that were winking at him from their place in the sky. The splashes of the pond were in the distance, disturbing the otherwise silence of the night. A sigh escaped his lips as he walked onto the damp grass, feeling it squish beneath his toes. He walked further into the garden all the way up to the pond. He peered into it, glancing at his reflection. His hair was rumpled, eyes tired as well as the fact his pyjama shirt was creased where he was obviously tossing and turning before waking up. A twig snapped behind him and he whirled on the spot to come face to face with Obito.

"Hey there Naruto!" he exclaimed. Naruto winced at the loud tone.

"Dude, be quite! It's like half three in the morning!" he protested. Obito frowned.

"Oh, sorry. So, what are you doing out here?" he asked, standing next to the blond. Naruto huffed and crossed his arms.

"I could ask you the same thing!" he retorted.

"But I asked first!" Obito pouted. Naruto surveyed him with a confused look before sighing.

"I couldn't sleep- I had a weird dream," he admitted. Obito regarded him for a moment before looking at the stars that seemed to invade the sky like a legion of sparkling dots.

"I only came out to see what you were doing. How are you, by the way?" he asked, carefully observing the blond in front of him.

"I'm feeling better. I don't cough up much blood anymore," he admitted. Obito nodded, humming in content.

"That's good- but it's also bad," he muttered, a hand on his chin. Naruto was startled and blinked a few times.

"How is it bad?" he asked incredulously. Obito sighed before turning to face Naruto.

"I know it may be confusing but think about it. It's not just going to be a passing illness with Orochimaru is it? Knowing him, it's most probably the first stage before something even more terrible!" he whispered sharply, coming closer to the shivering blond.

"W-what?" he gasped. Obito grasped his shoulders, continuing with his rant.

"It's not going to be a onetime thing Naruto- it's going to stay dormant until the perfect moment when it'll cause the most damage! Trust me, Naruto, the blood was just the beginning- if you don't fight it, you'll end up hurting everyone you care about," he whispered. Naruto swallowed.

"H-How can you know this?" he gasped, stepping back and hitting something hard. He looked up to see Shisui looking down.

"We're spies for Kakashi, Naruto; it's our job to know this shit. I'm sorry but Obito's right. Don't let your guard down as it'll be the death of you and many others." He warned. Blue eyes widened as he processed the information. He stepped away from the- in his opinion- mental Uchihas.

"You're both wrong. I'd never hurt anyone!" he ranted, stepping back further before turning and running back to the house, leaving the two Uchihas by the pond.

"I think we scared him," Obito whispered to Shisui. The latter just frowned.

"He deserved to know the truth though. If he didn't, he'd be oblivious and even more dangerous," Shisui reassured. Obito nodded.

"Yeah, I guess so,"

* * *

><p>Kaoru was warmer than usual for some reason. He also felt a heavy weight in his arms which confused him to no end. Deciding that he should at least see what was making him so warm and confused, he cracked open a sleep hazed eye to close it again instantly. He must be dreaming because there was no way that-<p>

He decided to try again, this time opening both eyes as if he hoped that it was just the one eye playing tricks on him. First all he could see were glasses which sent his mind into overdrive- Was Cassie back? He shook his head. No, she couldn't be. Then who was this person in his-

"Good afternoon Kao-kun!" came the greeting from in his arms. He felt his jaw drop and his eyes widen.

'_Oh holy shi-'_

"Aren't you going to say good afternoon back?" the person in his arms pouted.

'_Oh God, please smite this person where they lay!'_ he thought with desperation

"Ryoumen, get off of Kaoru," came another familiar voice. Kaoru whipped his head up to see another teen slightly older than him with dark brown hair which was covered by a hat- which also shielded his eyes from view. He had his hands shoved in his pocket and a smirk on his face.

"Make me Ishimaru!" he growled, sticking his tongue out.

"Help me Stone!" Kaoru mouthed to his best friend. Stone- or Ishimaru as Ryoumen called him- just rolled his eyes before walking over to the bed and prying Ryoumen from Kaoru's side. Said twin just gasped at the sensation of finally being able to breathe properly. Ryoumen shouted in complaint but was soon silenced as Kaoru sat up, revealing his bare chest. He went oddly silent, a heavy blush staining his cheeks whilst his inner person was just screaming at the display.

A head popped in the room, revealing a raven.

"C'mon guys, lunch is being served!" Sai complained. Stone looked towards Sai with a smirk.

"You try to separate this sexually frustrated guy from Kaoru," he joked. Ryoumen just huffed and crossed his arms from his position on Stone's shoulder.

"I'm not sexually frustrated!" he mumbled to himself.

"No, you're just dickless," Sai commented before walking out of the room.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Ryoumen yelled, struggling to get free from Stone's grip. Kaoru sighed before standing up.

"When did you guys get here?" he asked curiously. Stone sighed when Ryoumen had instantly changed his tone into something sickeningly sweet.

"About an hour ago, Kao-kun!" he smiled. Kaoru inwardly shuddered at the outward obvious affection.

"And you've been snuggling with me the whole time?" he asked, eye twitching. Ryoumen smiled innocently. It was then that a panicked yell sounded, snapping everyone out of their reverie. Kaoru flew out of bed- recognising the voice which had yelled- it was Naruto.

He flew down the corridor with Stone on his heels- still carrying a yelling Ryoumen over his shoulder like a stack of potatoes. He reached the kitchen and slid along the linoleum tiles with his socks, crashing into Shisui.

"What's wrong with Naruto?" he asked, panting at the short run. Shisui smirked as he glanced out of the kitchen window. Naruto was being advanced on by a girl with brown hair carrying some rope.

"C'mon closer sweet pea, I won't hurt you," she grinned. Naruto backed away, hitting a tree. The girl lunged at him, letting out a war cry as he dodged and ran into the house and into the kitchen. He bypassed Kaoru and the two new people. Flying to the cutlery draw, he grabbed the first thing and turned to the girl with the rope brandishing... a fork. She grinned and stepped closer.

"Now, now Blondie- I know you want to fork me but let's get to know each other fi-"

"MIZURU!" a yell sounded. The girl- obviously named Mizuru- flinched at the yell coming from the boy hanging on Stone's shoulders. Naruto jumped, only just realising the other two people in the kitchen. He held onto his blond locks in desperation.

"What the fuck's going on?" he yelled in desperation. Sasuke ran in.

"Naruto! There you are! Where the hell did you go? I woke up and you weren't there you dobe! Do you have any idea how worried I was!" he exclaimed, taking the blond's hands in his own, placing a hand upon his cheek when he realised the look of distress and the fork in his hand. He then looked to Kaoru who was snickering at the scene. Mizuru looked outraged at the fact that someone else had the blond before pouting and folding her arms across her chest. Sasuke then realised the teen on the shoulder of another one.

"Can you put me down now please Stone," he asked pensively. Stone sighed and placed the boy on the floor. Sakura walked into the kitchen and blinked a few times before walking out.

"I'm going to walk back in and everything's going to be normal. There will be no strangers in my kitchen- especially seeing as one of them has rope and another looks like he's going to rape Kaoru," she muttered as she walked back in. She opened her closed eyes to see that there was no-one there. She let out a sigh of relief as it was just Naruto, Sasuke and Kaoru standing in the kitchen. It was short lived however when from behind the open fridge door, three faces peered out.

"The milk's off," The one with the hat commented. That's when Sakura fainted. Ryoumen looked down at her and Mizuru had a piece of ham hanging from her lips. The door opened, hitting the floor-dwelling girl as it did so. A blond boy with black tips appeared and looked down at her.

"Um, guys?" he questioned, still trying to open the door, hitting Sakura each time. Naruto sighed and walked over to her, hoisting her up under the arms and dragging her to the living room to put her on the sofa, her legs on the arm rest, levitating them above her body. Sai walked in followed by Shikamaru, Chouji, Shino, Gary and Kamari.

"What happened to Sakura?" Gary asked, sitting on the arm of the sofa that wasn't occupied by the girl's legs.

"There were three people in the kitchen: Stone, Ryoumen and Mizuru if I remember correctly. There was also a blond kid as well." He recalled, counting them off on his fingers. Kamari's eyes widened.

"I didn't think they'd get here so quick!" he admitted, rushing out of the room as Sasuke walked in.

"Dobe, don't leave me in the kitchen with those strangers," he reprimanded. Naruto chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.

"Sorry Sasuke but I had to get Sakura out of there before she was mauled by the door," he explained. Sasuke just sighed before walking over to him and kissing him gently on the cheek. It was at that moment that Itachi decided to walk in.

"Who's arrived so far?" he asked them. Sasuke sighed once more.

"The Kamizukis' friends have arrived and that's all I know at the moment," he told his older brother. Itachi smirked at him as he noticed his pensive expression.

"What's wrong Otouto- wake up alone?" he asked. Sasuke scowled at his older brother before tightening his grip around Naruto's waist.

"Shut up Itachi," he growled. Itachi just snickered when the doorbell rang.

"That should be Deidara and his group," Itachi muttered, walking towards the door. Naruto and Sasuke followed to see who it was. The instant the door opened, they were assaulted by green and fuzzy eyebrows. Neji's left eye looked like it was vibrating with the amount it was twitching.

"AH! Such a brilliant day in which my youth can be put to good use!" the smaller version of the two males shouted enthusiastically. Naruto felt his jaw drop at the sight of them all. The group crusaded into the house.

* * *

><p>Kakashi walked down the stairs and his eyes widened as he saw the sheer amount of people entering the house. It seemed that whilst he was 'tending' to Iruka, everyone whom anyone had made a call to had arrived- including some of the people he had contacted. Iruka walked down beside him, hair not as neat as he'd liked it to be. Everyone was now sitting in the living room being tended to. Most people were giving the green lovers a wide birth apart from Neji and Kiba- who seemed to have struck up a conversation with the younger one. Kakashi sighed as he spotted Shisui and Obito ogling a woman with scarlet eyes and an ample chest. Sakura was glaring at Shisui and Mizuru was staring without any shame at Sasuke and Naruto who were- to Kiba's dismay- getting on with some PDAs. Hinata was giggling at Kiba's attempts to stop the displays going on. Gary was absentmindedly talking with Ino and Shikamaru- the latter glaring at Kabuto who had a possessive arm around the blonde's waist as she talked enthusiastically. Gaara, Temari and Kankuro were talking with a man with sideburns and a toothpick in his mouth. Moegi, Udon and Konohamaru were giggling and drawing on Sai's face whilst he snoozed in the corner. Shino was being quiet and sitting next to Itachi and Kisame- obviously waiting for everyone to calm down. Juura had somehow been dragged over to Kamari and Kaoru's friends and was stuck in a conversation with them. The one with glasses and turquoise hair- Ryoumen- was sitting quite close to Kaoru, only just invading his personal bubble so that it wouldn't look too suspicious. Mizuru sighed at her brother's antics and looked away from Naruto and Sasuke to start arguing with Kamari when he disagreed with the blond- Jinko- on something. Stone sat there grinning at his friends' predicaments.<p>

Soon enough, everyone was gathered in the living room and introductions were made. The green clad almost-twins introduced themselves as Rock Lee and Gai Might. Kaoru's friends all introduced themselves to the others. The man with sideburns was named Asuma who was married to the red-eyed woman named Kurenai. Gaara, Temari and Kankuro introduced themselves to the people who didn't know them and soon enough, after twenty minutes, everyone was introduced to each other. The living room was filled with people now and Kakashi was nervous. There were a lot of people. They'd be noticed quite quickly if they were to storm into Orochimaru's lair. He quickly dispelled the negative thoughts though when Itachi stood up cleared his throat.

"Okay, so you all know why you're here," he started. There was brief 'no shit' from Kaoru which was then ended by a hand to the back of his head courtesy of Naruto. Itachi coughed and continued.

"Tonight is the night we attack Orochimaru's place. We will begin the attack at 21:00 hours- 9pm, to the slow ones, he motioned to Naruto, Kaoru and the three younger ones who just scowled at him. Shisui snickered at that but that was silenced when Itachi looked to him with the next sentence.

"We have to designate team leaders to smaller groups. Naturally, it'll be the older ones escorting the younger ones," he continued. The adults nodded.

"We'll also need to protect Naruto," he added. After that comment, quite a few curious pairs of eyes settled on the blond who was cuddled up to Sasuke's side.

"Why?" Ryoumen asked, breaking the tense silence and asking the question that most were wondering about. Gaara sighed before turning jade eyes onto the foolish teen who had even asked the question.

"Did you pay attention to history when you were in school? Or did you flunk it?" he asked bitterly. Ryoumen flushed.

"O-of course I paid attention! I'm just wondering why we need to protect him so much!" he replied. Sasuke growled.

"Because, you twit, he's already been taken captive once- with no help from Kabuto of course," he replied, glaring at the silver haired man with glasses. Ryoumen's mouth made a small 'o' as he realised the situation.

"All right, so who's going with who?" he asked, secretly eager to be with Kaoru. Itachi smirked and looked to Sasuke.

"Well, we put you in groups so that there'd be no distractions. Kakashi shall be in charge of Sasuke, Kaoru and Jinko." He started off. There was obvious protest at that but Itachi soon shut them up with a glare. Sasuke looked worriedly to the blond in his arms. He didn't like being separated from him for too long but it was for the sake of the world and so he would have to bear it for a few hours. Itachi cleared his throat and looked around.

"If I can continue? Asuma, you'll be in charge of Sakura, Konohamaru, Gary and Mizuru." He relayed from his notepad as he placed a pair of reading glasses over his eyes. Naruto blinked, not realising that Itachi had needed reading glasses whilst Mizuru squealed on the inside.

"Iruka, I want you to take Moegi, Stone and Shikamaru." Iruka nodded at the arrangement before turning to nod at his team members.

"Kurenai, I'll need you to look after Udon, Sai and Hinata. Shisui, your wards are Kiba, Shino and Chouji." He explained. Shisui groaned.

"Whaaat? Why do I get dog-breath?" he complained. Itachi shot him a dark look before the other Uchiha shut his mouth and kept silent, nodding at the agreements.

"Gai, you're to take charge of Lee, Ryoumen and Neji. Obito, you've got Deidara, Sasori and Juura!" the two leaders nodded with sincerity, already separating into their squads.

"Shizune, I want you to take Gaara, Temari and Kankuro whilst Tsunade; you're going to be with Kabuto, Kisame and Jiraiya when he arrives," Itachi explained. The mentioned people- minus Jiraiya- nodded whilst also separating into groups. Soon everyone followed suit, leaving all but three people in the middle with no-where to go. It was Ino, Kamari and Naruto.

"You three are with me," Itachi claimed to the three teens that were still in the middle. Naruto paled.

"You've got to be kidding me!" he groaned. Itachi smirked evilly.

"Oh trust me Naruto-kun, I'm _not_ kidding you. You need the most protection and so I'll help you," he told the blond sincerely. Naruto nodded, looking to Sasuke from the corner of his eye, who seemed to be restraining himself from hitting Kaoru. Jinko stood awkwardly, not too sure on how to go about the killing aura coming off the two boys when his leader was so blatantly ignoring them both.

The plan was long and complicated and by the time they'd gone through it, it was nearing eight 'o' clock. They needed to be down there by 8:45pm if they were to complete the attack on time. All equipment had been triple checked whilst the brief was going on and Jiraiya had arrived half way through. Needless to say, it had been troublesome to start the whole thing again for his benefit. Everyone was high-stung as they boarded into different cars. Ryoumen was tapping on the dashboard impatiently whilst he waited for the other seven passengers to climb in. They eventually got in before he sighed in relief and slammed his foot on the accelerator, making the van pulse down the motorway like a signal of high strung electricity. In the back, Naruto, Itachi, Sasuke, Sakura, Kaoru, Kamari and Stone were all stuck to the back of their chairs due to the G-force applied.

'_And people thought I had anger issues!_' Kaoru thought frantically as Ryoumen slammed the horn in the centre of the steering wheel.

"OUTTA MY WAY BITCHES! I GOT PLACES TO BE!" he screamed, leaning out of the window to shake his fist. In all his life, Itachi had never been scared but at that moment whilst he was in the car with Ryoumen driving- he'd rather be facing Orochimaru naked with a plastic straw as his only defence. Naruto flinched as Ryoumen continued to yell at other drivers.

"Hey asshole! Don't even think about cutting me off!" he roared, swerving the car dangerously, making it so that Naruto landed in Sasuke's lap- to no displeasure of the raven- in fact, he was rather enjoying the attention and leant down to continue it further when the brakes were painfully stomped on, making the van swerve. Sasuke's head knocked against Naruto's and everyone looked up shakily to see Ryoumen grinning like an idiot, glasses glinting in the light menacingly.

"Here we are!" he grinned. Kamari bolted upright, ripping off his seatbelt before diving out the door and throwing up his dinner on the pavement. They were barely half a mile away from Orochimaru's hideout and Ryoumen looked pleased with himself- having travelled three miles in under two minutes, an average of about seventy miles an hour in a pedestrian zone- and was stretching. The last few vans pulled up, allowing all other members to pour out. Jiraiya growled and stalked up to Ryoumen.

"That was dangerous driving! If I weren't on this mission, I'd have pulled your ass over!" he growled. Ryoumen shrunk back and hid behind Kaoru who just rolled his eyes and stepped out of the way. Kiba waltzed up to Naruto and slung his arm around his friend's shoulder.

"So Naruto, ready to kick some ass?" he asked. Naruto snorted and Kakashi growled.

"This isn't some video game where you die and then respawn! This is real life. You die and that's it. Some people have already found that out!" he snapped. Obito walked over to his friend and patted his shoulder.

"Calm down Kakashi. You need to keep a cool head at this," he reminded. Kakashi sighed and called everyone in for a group huddle. They were all giving their weapons a once-over before going on with a final briefing.

"This is it guys- the final attack. We fail this and it's over for the world. Orochimaru's gunna give it everything he's got. No doubt there will be bloodshed but we have to ignore that. From this moment on, we're all warriors- not friends, lovers or siblings- but fighters. We have to fight this darkness so that the future may have some light," he told them, a dark aura surrounding the grey haired man. The whole group swallowed and nodded before breaking off into their respective groups. Before Naruto had a chance to join Itachi, a hand pulled him back and a set of lips was pressed to his forehead.

"Be careful dobe," was the whisper that accompanied it. Naruto nodded.

"You too, teme." The two broke apart, not looking back at one another as they walked into their separate positions around the building. Itachi was next to Naruto, calming him with his own calm breathing. All of the team leaders had their watches synchronised down to the second. Ten seconds to go.

Nine.

Eight.

Seven.

Six.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

The doors in which each group surrounded were slammed open and all bodies pulled their weapons out when the sound of retaliating gunfire caught their ears. It was chaotic within those first ten seconds. Casualties had already been sustained. Sai clutched at his shoulder which had been grazed by a bullet. He peered around the edge of the table he had dived behind to see a woman with blue hair and piercings cocking her pistol. Udon was panting, somehow unscathed from the rapid bursts of fire. Hinata was the epitome of concentrated, her hand steady as anything as she reloaded her pistol and took deep breaths. Kurenai surveyed her team carefully, noting down Sai's handicap before crawling over to him.

"Are you okay?" she whispered. The raven nodded and hissed in pain when he took his hand away from the wound.

"Come on out children; I want to play!" the woman sneered. Hinata almost growled before jumping up and swinging her gun around.

The blue haired woman surveyed her carefully, levelling her own pistol with the girl's.

"Well, if it isn't another pretty girl!" she cooed. Hinata snorted.

"Yeah, whatever," she replied before tapping the trigger. In a swift movement, the woman had ducked, her black robe swishing, catching the bullet. In retaliation she swung back up and tapped her trigger. With a speed she never knew she had, Hinata rolled to the side, thanking the higher powers that had convinced her to put her hair into a bun for this. The blue haired woman was smiling.

"Not bad little girl, but you're going have to better than that. And let's not forget about your companions!" she taunted, turning her pistol to the wooden table and pulling the trigger once more. Hinata hear Sai cry out in pain as a bullet splintered through the table and struck his thigh. This enraged the girl further and Sai threw his pistol to her.

"Duel wield it Hinata, don't hold back!" he grunted. Hinata nodded, locking eyes with Udon and glancing at Kurenai. The okay was given and she dived out from the table in a matrix dive, shooting both pistols at the same time. As she was about to crash to the floor, she thrust a hand out, flipping herself and avoiding a bullet at the same time. The blue haired woman raised a pierced eyebrow.

"Nice moves, but mine are better!" she bragged. Hinata smirked.

"I doubt that!" she said confidently, for once glad that she had played DDR enough to have a good hand-eye-foot co-ordination. That and her father had enrolled her in martial arts classes when she was four years old. Confident in her ability, she ran towards the woman, dodging various shots before she arrived close enough to kick the weapon out of the woman's hands and pin her to the floor and press a gun to her heart.

"Now, who are you and where's Orochimaru?" she panted. The woman smiled.

"I'm not going to tell you- I'd rather die," she told her. Hinata's eyes widened as she saw the woman crunch down on something in her mouth. No sooner than five seconds later, bloody froth was falling from the corner of her now blue lips. Sai limped over to Hinata, pulling her off and over to Kurenai.

"A suicide pill, huh?" Kurenai asked. Hinata nodded and wiped her cheek where some of the foamy blood had splashed onto her. Udon looked around at the place before seeing a small camera. He aimed his pistol at it before snatching the trigger. The small device almost exploded with the force but that was the least of their worries.

"They were waiting for us," Sai supplied, looking around at the neatly organised battlefield. Kurenai hummed in agreement before approaching the door to the corridor. She leant her ear against it and upon hearing nothing, opened it to the area beyond.

* * *

><p>Konohamaru flinched as another shot thudded into the wall above his head.<p>

"Come out and play children!" the man sneered. Upon entering, they had been bombarded instantly with shotgun shells. Asuma had shoved the other three out of the way before taking the brunt of the attack. Sakura was trying to stem the bleeding of the open wound whilst Mizuru was making measurements quickly in her head. Calculations were solving themselves as she realised her plan. She leant over Asuma and took hold of his weapon. He looked to her cautiously but she just smiled before handing it to Konohamaru.

"Run over to the other table, I'll distract him. Sakura, keep Asuma-senpai in a stable condition!" she ordered. Sakura nodded with determination as Mizuru stepped from behind the table and faced the man with slicked back white hair.

"Lord Jashin will be pleased for another sacrifice so soon! That little brat isn't enough to satisfy him for long!" he sneered.

"You what?" she bit back. The man snickered.

"That feisty little brunet of yours. Unfortunately he's still alive- Jashin didn't want to take him just yet but he'll be gone soon." Sakura's eyes widened in understanding.

'_How the Hell did they manage to capture Gary in such a short time?_' she panicked. A coughing from beneath her brought her attention back to matters at hand. Mizuru snarled.

"Oh HELL no! Nobody picks on people younger than them- that's just wrong!" she screamed, pulling the trigger and aiming straight between the eyes of her supposed victim. Strangely, there was no mark.

"What the-" Mizuru managed before she was thrown across the room. The man before her had no need for a weapon. He was quick, strong and downright dangerous. In a panic, Sakura had forgotten about Asuma until Konohamaru roared at her to keep him safe. Sakura snapped back to reality when she realised that he needed her help. Konohamaru ran up to the man and tried to pistol whip him in the neck. Needless to say he failed at his task and was thrown across the room, hitting the wall and not getting back up again as a trail of blood appeared from under his fringe. The man stood up and chuckled, taking both pistols from the smaller boy before turning to Mizuru.

"Shit!" was the last thing to escape her mouth before the barrel was placed to her forehead and the trigger was pulled. Red decorated the walls behind the brunette and Sakura was frozen to the spot in fear. The man turned to her, assuming the man whom she was tending to to be dead already and not of importance. Tears were streaming from aqua green eyes as she stared down the barrel of the gun. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, a shifting in her arms brought her out of her stupor. Asuma was standing up, ignoring his wound as he roundhouse kicked the man in the jaw and snatching both guns from him. He threw one to Sakura who, in anger, cocked it and pointed it at the man who had just murdered her comrade. She pulled the trigger but the man dodged out of the way. Sakura cursed at that before ducking, avoiding the punch that was thrown her way. Using this to his advantage, Asuma brought his knee up to smash into the assailant's nose. Blood dripped to the floor and the man looked shocked. He looked up, hand covering his nose.

"You little cunt! Nobody makes me bleed my own BLOOD!" he roared, lunging for the injured man, punching him in the face in return. As sick as it made her feel, Sakura used it to her advantage. She walked up behind the man and pressed the cool metal in the juncture between where his skull and spine met.

"I learnt this one from George, bitch!" she snarled, pulling the trigger. The resounding 'clack' of an empty magazine echoed like a thousand shattering mirrors in a church. Sakura paled as the man turned with a snarl on his face.

"You vindictive little bitch! You were going to put me down like some mangy dog, weren't you?" he roared. Sakura flinched but stood her ground, vaguely aware of the stirring teenager not five meters away. She signalled with her fingers for him not to move. Konohamaru caught on and played dead. He fought the urge to jump up and help Sakura when the man had grabbed her around the throat and was constricting her airways. Behind the man, Asuma had risen up once more and withdrew the hidden blade which each person had on them in case of an emergency. With as much force as he could, Asuma plunged it down into the man's jugular vein, showering all three participants in the fight with blood, crimson and thick. As if by some hellish miracle, the man managed to pull the knife from his neck with a sickening 'schluck'. He turned to Asuma and with the last ounce of his strength, plunged it into the stomach of the man and ripping down, making similar movements as if he was gutting a fish. Sakura gasped and there was a retching from the corner as the innards of their team captain spilled onto the floor, coating their feet red. The two dead bodies fell together, creating a swimming pool of blood around the two survivors of the team of five. Sakura gathered Konohamaru in her arms, shielding him from the horrific sight. She was unable to take her eyes away from the scene before. The final moments were playing over and over again in her head. A tear fell to the floor, unnoticed in the red ribbon river which encompassed both survivors. A team member had been kidnapped, another shot- their team captain disembowelled and they only had one gun between the two of them. Sakura was left comforting the teenager for a long time. She just wanted to sleep and make it go away but she couldn't. She had to keep on fighting no matter what- it's what the others would be doing. Shakily, she stood up, coaxing Konohamaru to do so at the time. She staggered towards the metal door which was the only way out. It was as if they were both in a trance. Konohamaru took hold of Sakura's hand as if he was a child going for a walk with his mother. They arrived at the door.

"S-Sakura-chan." Konohamaru whispered. Sakura nodded in reply before opening the door.

* * *

><p>As soon as they had entered, they'd been under constant gunfire. It was almost as if they were with a trigger-happy yank that you saw in those stereotypical American movies. Kaoru growled from his place behind a marble pillar. He desperately wanted to go out there and kick the guy's ass but he just wouldn't stop firing. Sasuke wasn't happy either; this guy was stopping them from getting past with his spray 'n' pray ways. Eventually, when the man had to stop and reload, Kakashi stepped from behind the pillar and shot the man's hand with a perfectly aimed shot and kicked the MG47 out of the way.<p>

"Thank god that's over. I thought you'd never stop," he drawled. The man looked sort of frightened without his weapon. His dark glasses stopped anyone from seeing his eyes which would undoubtedly be filed with fear when face with the stern and fearsome gaze of The Kakashi Hatake. Sasuke smirked, also coming out along with Jinko and Kaoru, aiming their pistols at the head of the small and plump man before them. He instantly threw his hands into the air.

"W-whoa! Wait a minute! Don't shoot me!" he pleaded. Jinko sneered, showing the rare part of him which showed hatred.

"Why shouldn't we?" he snarled. Kaoru's eyes widened at the hatred in the tone- it wasn't usually suited to the blond with black tips. Sasuke watched the blond with interest.

"If you give us the information we desire-"

"NO! This piece of dirt is going to die!" Jinko yelled, pressing the cold metal of the barrel to the frightened mans forehead. Kaoru's jaw dropped, along with Sasuke's.

"J-Jinko, calm down," Kaoru ushered.

"He killed my parents Kaoru! This Gato is the reason why I'm an orphan!" he yelled. Kaoru turned to the man before him and joined in with pressing a barrel to his head.

"You little fucker," he growled. Sasuke felt a twist in his gut. This boy had been orphaned for no reason. A third pistol now joined in with pointing at his head. The man was starting to sweat now and looked pleadingly towards Kakashi who just shook his head with no remorse. The man- Gato- whimpered before three shots were fired simultaneously. A thud was heard as the almost headless body fell to the floor. The three looked at him with disdain before the action caught up with the blond.

"Oh my god," he whispered, clasping his hands over his mouth and collapsing onto his knees. Kakashi was over to him in an instant, a hand on the boy's shoulder as he wept slightly.

"I'm a murderer," he whispered over and over again. Kaoru knelt down beside him and grabbed his shoulder.

"Listen to me Jinko- you're not a murderer!" he reassured, rubbing his back. Jinko shook his head- kept on shaking it.

"No, no, no! What would Kam think of me? I can't DO this!" he yelled, pressing the gun to his temple. Kaoru looked shocked before he started tugging at the weapon in the hands of the small teenager.

"Jinko, let go of the gun now!" he yelled. Kakashi and Sasuke had come over to the boy and were trying to prise the fingers of the boy open so that they could take the pistol from him. It was a bad move on their part. It was uncertain on who had caused it, but due to all the tugging and pulling, a finger had pulled the trigger. The echoing bang ricocheted around the walls and red splattered to the ground. Kaoru was shaking as he pulled his hand away from the pistol where the tip was still smoking. Sasuke backed away slightly and Kakashi was still kneeling in a state of shock- mimicking the expression of the stone cold boy on the floor- as he placed the pistol on the floor.

"J-Jinko," Kaoru whispered, placing his hands over his mouth as if he was about to throw up.

"I- I never should've brought him along- he was too innocent!" Kaoru stressed, clutching at his hair as a few strands of red ponytail fell around his face. Kakashi turned to him with a stony look on his face.

"Now you listen here Kaoru, and you too Sasuke; you were in no way responsible for this boy's death. It was my fault for letting him go ahead and shoot Gato. I am taking the blame entirely so if any of you blame yourself, I will make it my personal task to make sure you see differently!" he snapped. Both boys nodded at the command but before anything else could be said, the room went dark. There were a few muffled yells, bangs and scrapes before everything went silent. The lights came back on to show that Kaoru had been knocked unconscious and Sasuke was missing. Kakashi looked around frantically.

"SASUKE!" Kakashi yelled into the air. There was a muffled yell and bang from further down the hall. Jinko's body had disappeared as well but the stains were still there. Kakashi crawled over to Kaoru and slapped him on the cheek. The twin stirred and sat bolt upright.

"What's going on?" he asked the grey haired man in front of him. Kakashi shook his head.

"I'm not too sure. Jinko's body has gone and Sasuke's disappeared!" Kakashi explained. Kaoru paled that and swallowed. The door to their right then burst open revealing a blood-stained Jiraiya with his group just barely intact. On their left another door burst open revealing a ruffled up and slightly bloodied Obito carrying an unconscious Juura. Deidara and Sasori were limping behind them.

"What happened to you guys?" Kakashi asked in shock. Obito gently placed the unconscious member on the floor.

"We were ambushed. They knew we were coming somehow," he panted, collapsing into a sitting position.

"Have you heard anything from the other teams?" Kakashi asked almost desperately. Jiraiya shook his head.

"We haven't, no; but we can only assume that they were ambushed too. I hope they were strong enough to hold their own. The guy we were fighting just didn't want to seem to die!" he added in dry humour. Kabuto was tending to Juura, making sure that she was okay whilst Tsunade went to check on what was wrong with Kaoru who was now shivering.

"They were ambushed. My little brother was ambushed," he muttered, wringing his hands together.

"My little brother and his best friend are dead, aren't they? After all I did to protect him it was for nothing!" he gasped, rocking backwards and forwards. Tsunade had he arms around the redhead.

"Kamari's going to be fine Kaoru- you can still feel him, can't you? You know in your gut that he's fine. You'll all be fine, I promise!" she whispered, cradling him as he rocked. She hadn't had to do this since he was five years old and suffering from a bad nightmare. He seemed to calm down slightly after that and nodded frantically.

"Kam's okay; he's fine," he whispered to himself. Kakashi turned to Obito.

"Are you okay?" he asked, concern filling his visible eye. The goggled Uchiha just smiled at him, revealing his answer. Relief unlike anything Kakashi had ever felt washed over him as he pushed himself up and pulled his friend into a crushing hug. Obito smiled gently and gently hugged his friend back. Jiraiya looked to Juura's unconscious form and then to the door that neither group had gone or come through.

"Tsunade, Kabuto, keep an eye on Juura and Kaoru whilst we go forward. Protect each other at all costs!" he ground out. The two nodded as the others stepped through the door.

* * *

><p>Shizune sighed as she walked down what seemed like never-ending corridors. As soon as she and the Sabaku siblings had entered, they hadn't come into any enemy contact. The three siblings were getting restless, hoping for something to do. A door ahead of them creaked and out stepped a man with sandy hair and dark red- crimson- eyes. All four people froze at his arrival. He turned towards them with a feral grin on his face- it made him look like a raccoon in a way. He advanced on them slowly, no weapon in sight. He chuckled, his voice sounding like dry sandpaper.<p>

"Well hello there. Have you come to play with Shukaku?" he whispered. Gaara's hand twitched towards his gun holster, the same with his other three teammates hands'. Crimson eyes glanced to where the fingers were itching to go and he laughed.

"Foolish children. How about we fight with these?" he asked silkily, pulling out four hidden swords. There were two on his back, one on either hip and a final one he withdrew from up his sleeve. He kept onto the one from his sleeve whilst he threw the other four towards the team opposite him. Gaara felt the weight of the scarlet sword in his hand. It wasn't that heavy, easily manoeuvrable- not too different to the fencing sword he used in his lessons. He saw Kankuro, Temari and Shizune sizing up their own weapon and he smiled. The Sabaku siblings were master swordsmen in their own right and he was sure with Shizune's confident smirk that she was more than capable of holding her own with a sword.

"Let us begin with a bow," the sandy haired man- Shukaku- whispered. All four of them bowed before rushing at the other man, swords at the ready.

Sparks flew as metal caressed metal in the most violent of dances. It was chemistry in its deadliest form, dance in its most fatal routine. One slip up from the performers and it'd be over- the curtain would fall. For one man against four, Shukaku was holding off expertly. He completed a few flourishes with the grace only a ballerina could accomplish and Shizune doubled back holding her arm.

"You're out," Shukaku commented as if it was merely a game and he didn't want to hurt them beyond repair. Shizune gasped as the man left her alone to just fight the siblings. It was as if he genuinely didn't want to kill anyone. Kankuro was the next to be 'eliminated' as he was sliced across the ankle and crumpled to the floor. More attacks were made, more footwork was applied. It was a never-ending three way waltz between Temari, Gaara and Shukaku. Temari was becoming frustrated and lunged blindly, missing the target as he ducked down low, his cloak swishing around him. He poked Temari in the thigh with his sword and she let out an 'oh' of surprise as she fell onto her behind. It was just Gaara against Shukaku now. The two were locked in a deadly embrace of swords, the cries of the metal were the only sound in the corridor as they were strained, trying to keep up with the dancers. The crescendo was building bit by bit, note by screeching, metal note. The two subjects danced around one another, blocking, hitting but never landing a blow. It was frustrating to watch, to see who the better swordsman was. Eventually, Gaara was held in a tight lock with Shukaku and it looked like he was losing. Shukaku was pressing harder and harder. Gaara shut his eyes, forcing his training to come back to him. He focused all of his power to the one place in the sword and shoved ruthlessly against the others, sensing the weak spot. Shukaku let out a gentle 'oh' of surprise as he fell backwards onto his behind after being sliced across the arm by Gaara's sword. He chuckled when he saw Gaara panting.

"Well done, you were able to beat me!" he said in friendly surprise.

"I'll allow you a free pass- seeing as you are the first ones to ever defeat me- even if it did take a while," he smiled at them with closed eyes before standing up and walking in the opposite direction. He was about to turn a corner when he turned around to the group.

"Oh, by the way, there's a first aid pack in the bathroom. Third door on your right," he explained before disappearing around the corner. The group just looked even more concerned now but continued anyway after patching up using the first aid kit from the bathroom which was- as Shukaku said- the third door on their right.

* * *

><p>Shisui was annoyed. After almost being killed by an ambush, he had been found by that <em>thing<em>. The 'Thing' being called Gai. Now don't get him wrong, he was glad for the extra help- but one can only take so many 'Youth's before they start to go mad. His eye was twitching and he was sure that Ryoumen was on the verge of shooting his team leader should he mention the word 'youth' again. Chouji looked ready to drown himself in the next bathroom they came across, Kiba was contemplating suicide with the pistol he held in his hands, Neji's left eye was vibrating to a point where it had developed its own type of Morse code; Lee was enthusiastically joining in with his teacher whilst Shino just walked along, quiet and creepy.

They walked for quite a while until they heard a series of scuffles coming from a room and a few yells. Panicked, Shisui kicked the door open and swung his pistol up, his movement being followed by the other seven around him. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw that it was Iruka, Shikamaru, Stone and Moegi. He walked in, closing the door behind himself. Everyone was gathered around one table discussing their next course of action. It was eventually decided that they should go down and see if they could meet up with some of the others.

They walked for a while and entered a room which had a curious stain on the carpet. Shisui paled slightly and covered Moegi's eyes as he realised what it was. She squeaked in surprise at the sudden darkness but Shisui led her on, as well as the rest of the group. Ryoumen shuddered as he realised what the stain was too. He could see the brief signs of a struggle within the stains before something that curiously looked like a drag mark. His eyes widened as he realised something. He swallowed and turned back to see that he had become separated from the rest of his group.

"Damn!" he cursed, walking through the door where the drag mark led to. He opened it cautiously and peered inside. It was very dark and he felt along the wall for a switch. He found what he assumed to be a leather chain and pulled. He felt the bile rise to his throat when there was a wet sucking sound when he pulled and something warm and sticky ran down his arm. Now that he thought about it, he'd just pulled something that was meant to be inside a body.

"Oh God," he breathed, backing away slightly to where he could've sworn the door was. He felt behind him but there was nothing. No door; no handle. He was stuck in this closet of hell. His breaths came out shorter when he felt something slide across his clean arm, making it dirty.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god," he repeated as if the mantra would help him get out of there alive. He'd had enough- he wanted out. He screamed- loudly.

"HELP!" he screamed. In the background, he heard a door open and felt someone grab his arm. Panicked tears came to his eyes as he was dragged backwards out of the wardrobe of nightmares. He turned around to see who his saviour was and launched his arms around them in an appreciative hug- not caring that it was Stone that had dragged him out. His arm was still covered in blood which he'd accidentally smeared it onto his crush's best friend. Iruka walked back into the room and took in Ryoumen's appearance. He decided not to question it as he sighed.

"We're meeting up now. C'mon, it's time for the main attack in Orochimaru's quarters," he explained. Ryoumen nodded and trailed after Iruka, leaving Stone to wonder at what it was in the closet. He shook his head and walked out with Ryoumen to where the others would be meeting.

They walked down several corridors until they came to one where Iruka knocked three times. The heavy doors were opened and instantly Ryoumen launched himself at Kaoru and enveloping him into a tight hug.

"Oh my god, you're okay!" he whispered, pulling him closer. He looked around at everyone else.

"Where's Mizuru, Kamari, and Jinko?" he asked Kaoru, a hand on the redhead's cheeks. Kaoru just froze up and Kakashi cleared his throat.

"As you all know, we're here to fight Orochimaru. We're going to storm the main hall in less than two minutes. We're going to use this time to stock up on ammo and reload. We'll be meeting some of the others down there as it's not possible for them to make it to this room but don't worry- there are no bad reports as of yet- although I can vouch for one. It's been confirmed that Sasuke Uchiha is indeed missing and Jinko is now one of the deceased. I'll tell you the reasons later but for now, we need to prepare," Kakashi explained in a hard voice. Jiraiya sighed before going around and distributing ammunition. Ryoumen sat there in a state of shock.

"J-Jinko's d-dead?" he whispered. Kaoru nodded only slightly and Ryoumen felt all the air in his lungs leave in a great big whoosh.

"D-did they find anything on Mizuru?" he asked desperately. This time Kakashi answered him.

"She was in the group that should be waiting for us there," he told the teen who just nodded and swallowed. Obito checked his watch and signalled to Kakashi and Jiraiya. They both nodded.

"Okay guys, it's time to move out!"

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><p>Orochimaru grinned as he watched them all assemble in front of him. There was a look of confusion on everyone's faces as they looked around, obviously waiting for some other people. It was then that Neji realised it.<p>

"What have you done to everyone else, you bastard?" he yelled, stepping closer. Orochimaru chuckled and gestured to the chairs where some figures sat, black bags over their heads. In the middle, however, was a person tied to a wooden post with a black bag over his head. A trickle of blood was seeping from under the rim and making its way down the orange shirt. It was obvious who was tied to that one. Ryoumen was now beyond breaking point.

"Where's my sister?" he yelled. Orochimaru snickered and pulled the hood off of the first person to reveal Mizuru with the bullet hole still in her head, her eyes wide open. Ryoumen clapped a hand over his mouth and took a few paces back.

"S-shit!" he whispered, trying not to let tears fall down his face. Orochimaru was still snickering, even when Kurenai was shouting about where her husband was. The second figure was revealed, showing Asuma as he'd died. Kurenai sank to her knees, sobbing into her hands. Kaoru was shaking, praying that his little brother was okay. One by one the figures were revealed how they'd been captured. The next one to be unveiled was Jinko which earned many gasps. Moegi turned away, hiding her face from the view. Juura felt enraged at what she saw. Shikamaru felt sick, looking at Asuma like that- he wished he could gouge his eyes out with a hot spoon.

After Jinko was unveiled, Orochimaru pulled four up at the same time. Gaara, Temari, Kankuro and Shizune had been knocked out. They were bleeding quite badly. Tsunade's breath caught in her throat as she spotted her assistant in that state. Ino was shown next, much to the fury of Kabuto. Red was staining her usual platinum blonde hair and it hung out of her ponytail, framing her face. Her nose was bleeding, indicating a struggle- but not a tough one. A few bruises littered her face and arms but that was about it. Next were Konohamaru and Sakura. Shisui sucked in a deep breath and Tsunade growled at the fact that Sarutobi's son had been treated in such a way. After that Gary was reveal and everyone winced. His face was bruised and bloody, arms cut to ribbons with the signs of a valiant struggle. Blood was caked onto one half of his face, almost glazing it and matting his hair together, almost like a glazed lollipop of blood. They couldn't speak- it was if they were under a trance and unable to say anything- that was until the next unveiling. It was the worst so far of the ones still alive.

"YOU FUCKER! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?" Kaoru screamed at Orochimaru as his brother was revealed before him, covered in cuts and bruises. It was a miracle that he was even alive with the bruising and bleeding he was going through. His arms and legs were bound to the chair so tightly that he was bleeding slightly. There was a gunshot wound to his shoulder which was still bleeding slightly. A turquoise eye opened slightly and he tried to smile to his brother. I turned more into a grimace at the pain though. Orochimaru laughed as he witnessed the tears from everyone.

"Why are you crying now? We still have three more to unveil!" he said with giddy happiness. He unveiled Sasuke and Itachi who- apart from a little bleeding around the head- were perfectly fine. The evil glint in Orochimaru's eye put everyone on edge.

"First of all, I'd like to welcome you all to my home," he invited, pulling out a syringe from within his lab coat.

"Secondly, I need to make sure none of you can escape," he added, clapping his hands. About 40 strong men ran in and bound them to the chairs that were in the centre of the hall using thick rope. Sai hissed when his leg was jostled.

"Watch it, prick!" he snapped at the man who looked taken aback. Soon after that comment, everybody was gagged with a piece of white cloth that tasted bad.

"There we are, now we can watch the show!" he exclaimed gleefully, clapping his hands like an excited six year old on Christmas day. A feeling of dread settled in everyone's stomach as Orochimaru approached Sasuke and Itachi with a bucket. It turned out to be water as he roused the two brothers from their slumber. Sasuke looked up, blinking the reddish water out of his eyes. He felt disorientated and looked around to see what was going on. Itachi was doing the same. The last thing he could remember was walking along a long corridor with Naruto, Ino and Kamari when- He swallowed. They'd run into Orochimaru and he was too strong for them. Orochimaru looked to both of them before smiling.

"Ah, nice of you to join the living world!" he said cheerfully.

"I'm just about to entertain my guests- you're the entertainment," he smirked evilly. Itachi's and Sasuke's eyes widened at that and watched with curiosity as he approached the post where the last person was tied to. Orochimaru whipped the black bag up, revealing a very okay Naruto. There wasn't a blemish on his skin, but a small pin-prick on his neck where he'd obviously been tranquilised. Sasuke's breath caught in his throat as Orochimaru stole Naruto's Desert Eagle from his holster.

"Such a dangerous piece of equipment," Orochimaru muttered, fascinated. Sasuke growled.

"Don't touch him! If you touch _anyone_ I'll kill you!" he snarled. Orochimaru giggled and went over to Sasuke before undoing his bonds. In an instant, Sasuke tried to deliver a right hook to Orochimaru who in turn manoeuvred to pointing the Desert Eagle at Itachi's head. Sasuke froze in his tracks, eyes wide with fear. Everyone held their breath, waiting to see what would happen. Sasuke backed down slowly and Orochimaru smiled.

"There's a good boy- now go and grab the syringe you made me drop," he said cheerfully, setting the hammer as he did so. Sasuke swallowed, hands shaking as he did so.

"Now what?" he asked, disgusted with himself for being so cowardly. Orochimaru chuckled, now moving the gun to point at Naruto's head. Sasuke's breath hitched as he saw Orochimaru's finger rest on the trigger.

"Get me the bucket of water Sasuke," he told him sweetly. Sasuke fetched the bucket of water.

"Now I want you to pour it over Naruto to wake him up," he said simply. Sasuke swallowed before pouring the freezing cold water over his boyfriend. The blond coughed and spluttered as the water cascaded down him. His eyes opened, covered with a thin sheet of haze.

"'Suke?" he asked blearily. Orochimaru smiled.

"Good work Sasuke, now inject Uzumaki," he told the youngest Uchiha, once more switching the gun's position so that it was pointing at Itachi and withdrawing another one so that it was pointed at Naruto's head.

"Sasuke, what's going on?" Naruto asked, panicked. Itachi just looked worriedly at Sasuke.

"Sasuke, don't do anything," he advised. Orochimaru tutted.

"Shh, Ita-chan otherwise I'll have Sasuke-kun's brains decorating my wall!" he said sweetly. Itachi soon shut up after that. Orochimaru then looked to Sasuke.

"So who's it going to be? Your lover, or your brother?" he asked. Sasuke was having an inner war- he didn't want to do this- he'd rather kill himself than have to do this. Hell, he'd-

"Sasuke," that heavenly voice.

"Sasuke, inject me." Onyx pupils dilated in fear.

"Wh-what?" Sasuke stuttered, looking his lover in the eyes.

"I said inject me Sasuke!" he repeated, more earnestly than the first time. Sasuke was shaking his head and Orochimaru chuckled.

"My my, this is entertaining!" he giggled, pulling both triggers to the first click. Sasuke's head snapped to the side.

"Goddamn it Sasuke, INJECT ME!" Naruto roared, struggling against his bonds. Sasuke stepped closer a tad, tears in his eyes. Naruto relaxed slightly.

"It's okay Sasuke. It'll be okay," he whispered. Sasuke backed away slightly and Naruto grew frustrated.

_Dammnit! I'm sorry Sasuke!_ He thought before hooking his foot around Sasuke's ankle and yanking so that he fell into of him. The syringe hung loosely in Sasuke's hand, embedded into Naruto's arm. He gently pushed down on the syringe top, feeding the unknown substance into the body of the teen he loved. Orochimaru laughed.

"That was brilliant!" he applauded before Sasuke sank to his knees in front of Naruto. He couldn't bear to look at the people he had just unwillingly betrayed. They had sacrificed so much to keep Naruto safe and now he had gone and ruined everything. Tears fell unchecked down his face and he paid no mind to what Orochimaru was saying. It was all a blur to him until a sentence caught his attention.

"Here marks the beginning of a new chapter. Experiment Kyuubi is just one of the first to be developed and you shall be his first victims!" Orochimaru applauded loudly. A slicing was heard as the ropes around Naruto were sliced away but the blond was still standing. Sasuke looked up, hoping to meet blue eyes but instead black locked with blood red. Sasuke's heart leapt in fear as he was thrown across the room. He scrambled up -quickly untying Kakashi as he did so so that he could untie the others who were bound and gagged- and saw Naruto standing there on the podium, his whisker marks more predominant, his teeth sharper and his eyes blood red as noticed before.

"Kyuubi, kill!" Orochimaru screamed in a gleeful voice. Sasuke watched in horror as the boy he loved came rushing at them with a knife in hand. All of their weapons had been taken off of them when they'd been held captive. Kaoru instantly rushed to protect Kamari and stand in front of him. Naruto saw this and sensed the weakness. He diverged from his original path to get to Kaoru. The redhead braced himself for the pain to come as Naruto launched forward, too fast to be normal, raising his knife. A strained yell sounded and the pain never came. Kaoru opened his eyes that had somehow closed whilst waiting for death to have his vision assaulted by turquoise hair. Naruto paid no mind to this but just concentrated on the redness that was spilling and that kept on spilling as he dragged the blade further down, coating the polished tiles in red. Kaoru tried to open his mouth to talk but couldn't.

Moegi screamed.

Konohamaru yelled.

Sasuke sobbed.

Kaoru was stuck in limbo as Ryoumen crashed to the floor, convulsing in his puddle of blood. As if in a dream, Kaoru approached him and pressed his hands to the gash that was so blatantly beyond repair.

"Kao-kun?" Ryoumen asked. Kaoru snapped out of his daze and everything came rushing back to him. The noise of furniture being smashed, children screaming and Naruto growling. The only thing that drowned it out was looking at the teen that had just saved his life and as a knock on effect, his twin's. Never had anyone done that for him. He leant forward and gently pressed his lips to the bloodstained ones below him, a tear splashing onto the chilling cheek.

"Thank-you," he whispered against the lips that his were still attached to. A smile graced the lips of the dying.

"Any time," he whispered back before falling into a slumber he'd never awake from. Kaoru broke away, squeezing the last of the tears away from his eyes. He looked up to the chaos around him. Most of the adults were trying to reach Orochimaru so that he could reverse the effects of what he'd done. The other adults were evacuating the children. All of the people who were veiled as they came in were still tied up. Kaoru sniffed, wiping his bloodstained sleeve across his cheek before standing up and going to untie them.

Sasuke was at the forefront, trying to get Naruto to calm down. He realised that he couldn't not hurt his blond lover if he were to stop him. Sasuke took a deep breath when Naruto came running at him again. He roundhouse kicked the blond, making the knife fly from his hand. Naruto got up though, intent on fighting the Uchiha until the bitter end. He rushed at him again, using his speed to his advantage. Sasuke adjusted his footing as Naruto came closer and closer. As Naruto was about to punch him, he blocked the hit and every hit after that. The choreography continued as Sasuke countered each punch and delivered a few to have them blocked. Their bodies were too in sync with one another- their bodies were too familiar with one another. Too many nights filled with passion and love had made them know one another well enough to know what move was going to be made next and exactly how to counter that move. But surely, this meant something? If Naruto's body was still able to respond to his even with the virus inside of him, did that mean he wasn't completely gone? Sasuke hoped so because if it didn't, it was going to be an impossible fight: a fight that if Sasuke lost, he'd lose Naruto forever.

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><p><strong>Holy shit! 11,191 words EXCLUDING the ANs and shit!**

**WOW! The band tATu are brilliant! I was listening to male covers of their songs and was like PHWOAR! What? Wrong time to fangirl? Did I make anybody cry...pleeeeease say I made SOMEBODY cry! SEE! This is what you do to me when you insist I stay up all night writing! I go crazy and start miming songs to the corner of my room, pretending there's a ghost that can hear me! Then I want to make you guys cry because otherwise I feel this chapter hasn't completed its objective! You can also see how my sicker (and somewhat better) writing skills come out when I'm tired ^-^ I also had to drink some NASTY juice and take some stay-awake pills (I found them in my medicine cupboard ^^) But yeah, the juice was NAAAAAsty :/ At some points I slapped myself across the face to wake me up. I also watched Godzilla half way through. I cried at the end when Godzilla died though :'( So sad ANYWAYS! *spins on wheelie chair* WHEEEEEEE! :D**

_Next Time..._

_It's an all out war between Naruto and Sasuke...will they survive it? They're putting their bond of trust to the test when Sasuke insists on doing what? Wait, why would you do that? And just what is experiment Kyuubi?_

"_I shall use this boy to change the world!"_

"_Sorry dude, but as you can plainly see, he can't even change his underpants at the moment so how do you expect him to change the world in this state?" (Teh Humour is back!) :D_

_Stay tuned (and don't forget to review!)! _


	12. The End

**Author's Note: **Ah, here we have the penultimate chapter :3 And here I am listening to male cover songs... again. They're just so... *shudders* Sex to my ears X3 Seriously though, I think the Christina Aguilera 'Genie in a Bottle' male cover- wow. That's all I can say :3 But yeah, the penultimate (turned final) chapter is here: all of you must cry! }:D I'm crying right now... listening to the male cover of Kelly Clarkson 'Behind these Hazel Eyes' TTATT So beautiful and REALLY makes me think of old times with some shit happening. *sigh* now I'm even more upset... *gloom* I was dumped the other day... doesn't it suck that my longest relationship was 3 months and with a girl? Seems that guys really suck :/ I may just not bother with them. Hello ladies...

**Warnings: ***ahem* Sorry about up there but yeah in this chapter there is: yaoi, swearing, humour, more angst maybe, more death maybe, violence, blood, more angst maybe, confusing plotlines and yeah... more angst :/ I was pretty depressed when I started to write this...sorry for any outbursts of random 'waa'ing.

**Disclaimer:** Is the world seriously trying to make me depressed. SERIOUSLY! I don't own shit! Misashi Kishimoto owns all 'Naruto' characters, Juura99 owns Kam, Kao, Stone, Juura and all other characters of hers I use; Fullmetal Gary owns Gary and well... now I'm even more depressed. Fuck you Murphy!

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><p><em>As Naruto was about to punch him, he blocked the hit and every hit after that. The choreography continued as Sasuke countered each punch and delivered a few to have them blocked. Their bodies were too in sync with one another- their bodies were too familiar with one another. Too many nights filled with passion and love had made them know one another well enough to know what move was going to be made next and exactly how to counter that move. But surely, this meant something? If Naruto's body was still able to respond to his even with the virus inside of him, did that mean he wasn't completely gone? Sasuke hoped so because if it didn't, it was going to be an impossible fight: a fight that if Sasuke lost, he'd lose Naruto forever.<em>

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><p><strong>Chapter 11<strong>

A fist here.

A kick there.

A swerve.

A dodge.

A heartbreak as he saw the blood starting to pour from his lover's nose. He ignored the stabbing pain in his chest as he continued to fight in hand to hand combat with Naruto.

"Just give up Sasuke," a voice growled from the blond. Sasuke gasped on hearing that. Naruto remembered- but then why was he fighting him? His momentary distraction cost him as he was sent flying across the room, crashing into the wall. He coughed slightly, winded from hitting it so hard. The sounds of the fight around him were drowned out as he saw Naruto approaching him. He tried valiantly to push himself up off the floor but failed as a powerful blow was delivered to his elbow, a crack sounding from it. Sasuke cried out in pain and collapsed to the tiled floor once more. A fist grabbed his shirt collar, yanking him up; a punch was sent to his face, spilling blood from his nose.

"Do you know Sasuke? How long I've wanted to do this?" Naruto growled, throwing him to the floor before delivering a sharp kick to the raven's ribs.

"You're a complete jerk!" another kick. Another. Another. Another.

"I never loved you! How could I? I hate you Sasuke!" he yelled, each sentence was punctuated with a strong kick. The raven collapsed, breathing heavily.

"You're a liar," he whispered, shaking as he tried to lift himself up. The red-eyed Naruto looked confused as Sasuke stood up, still breathing heavily.

"You're a liar- and a monster. You're not Naruto!" he yelled, swinging his fist and making sure it collided with the blond's temple, disorientating him. The blond stumbled back, hair turning the same colour as his eyes as he fell to the floor.

"You never hated me. You lie, you monster- KYUUBI!" he roared, running towards the blond on the floor, picking up the discarded knife from earlier. He rushed forward, like a lion to its roaring slaughter as he raised the knife high. The flash of fear in red was missed as the knife was swung down, causing red to splash onto the floor.

"You're not Naruto- because the Naruto I know and love would never do this to his friends, or to me!" Sasuke whispered as he withdrew the knife with a 'schluck' sound. Tears remained unshed as he stepped backwards and turned his back on his bleeding lover to face the devastation around him. Blood was caking the walls; the deceased had been moved away, the injured being guarded as the others fought Orochimaru with all their might.

"D-don't turn your back on me, t-teme!" came a coughing from behind him. Sasuke flinched but walked forward and broke into a run, going to join the fight with Orochimaru.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled, his voice cracking slightly making it sound like the normal blond. Sasuke ignored him and kept on going.

"Sasuke, please!" the yell was drowned out by a few more gunshots; Sasuke had more important things on his mind.

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><p>Kiba was struggling to keep up with the others. Kakashi seemed to have endless stamina and Iruka just kept on going. Orochimaru didn't seem to want to give up any time soon either.<p>

"Why won't you die, you fucker?" he roared as the man dodged yet another swipe sent his way by the dog lover's fist. He chuckled, punching Iruka in the face and withdrawing a pistol and shooting the man in the chest. Kakashi felt as though he'd been punched in the gut as he saw the brunet fall to the floor. Kiba growled.

"Why did you do this?" he yelled, ducking and avoiding the bullet sent his way, which in turn grazed Jiraiya's shoulder. The white haired man growled at Kiba but was silenced as another bullet sliced through his shoulder.

"I'm going to use this boy to change the world!" he exclaimed gleefully. Kiba glanced to Naruto, who- much to his dismay- was slowly bleeding out but awkwardly making his way across the floor, trying to follow Sasuke.

"Dude, he can barely change his underwear at the moment, how do you expect him to change the world in this state?" he roared, withdrawing the hidden blade from his belt buckle and slicing the snake man across the wrist, causing him to drop the weapon he was using.

"This boy is a prototype. My next target is that delicious redhead over there," he nodded towards Gaara, licking his lips. A growl ripped through the air.

"YOU CAN'T GO AROUND USING PEOPLE AS MICE YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!" Kiba roared, going in for the kill when a sharp pain caught his side and he collapsed to the ground, coughing blood. He looked around to see the teen with the swirly orange mask with a pea-shooter wave and run out of the room. The room span around, making the brunet feel sick before something warm boiled in the back of his throat. He coughed some more before fainting- red was apparently a favourite colour of Orochimaru's.

Sasuke was furious. He watched as his comrades fell around him- he had to act quickly if he were to save his lover and his family. Ignoring the coughs and desperate calls of the blond from behind him, he sprinted to the black-haired man, readjusting the knife in his hand. As he was about to strike his neck, another blade blocked his own. A growl ripped through Sasuke's throat as onyx locked with gold. A long slimy tongue licked the lips of the golden eyed owner as he took in the sight of the boy before him.

"Such a waste on you Sasuke-kun," he whispered. Sasuke shuddered in disgust before breaking apart from the knife lock.

"I've had enough of your fucking voice!" he yelled, slicing across quickly, only to be showered with red as the pink slimy appendage fell to the floor. Red fell from the mouth of Orochimaru as he stared in disbelief at his tongue on the floor.

"You hurt Naruto; you killed countless others- you truly are the scum of the earth," Sasuke spat as he drove the dagger down, intending to finish off the man that had caused so much grief. Black was replaced with blond as the dagger swung down, causing more red to splash to the floor.

The room was filled with it, drowning in it. Stained with- painted by it. The room was being deafened by the sound of death, being thrown into darkness by the deeds committed. Cries echoed. Laughs rang; but most importantly, there was silence. Everything seemed to slow down as the blond crashed to the ground before the raven. The 'mute' button had been used on the remote of life and the scene played frame by frame as, for the last time, Sasuke watched someone he cared about was ripped away from him.

A cold laugh.

A warm hand.

Blue eyes.

Red puddles.

A muttered phrase.

A loud cry.

Sasuke stared down at the teen in his arms. It couldn't be happening; he'd had no idea that Naruto had been making his way towards him during his fight. He'd arrived at the wrong moment, to be grabbed by Orochimaru- used as a human shield. A cold laugh rang out through the hall, making everybody stop in their ministrations. Kakashi glared daggers at the monster who so proudly stood above them all, two bleeding teens at his feet. Tears were splashing onto the paling face of the tan boy held in Sasuke's arms. A warm hand grabbed his own and onyx locked with ocean blue for the last time. Red was pooling at the sides of soft lips and dripped down into puddles.

"S-Sasuke," Naruto whispered his eyes un-focusing every now and then. Sasuke gripped Naruto's hand tighter and held it close. His arm was still stinging but he ignored it as he held onto the hand like a lifeline.

"It's okay, I'm here Naruto," Sasuke whispered. A cold laugh rang out once more and Sasuke flinched.

"I- I'm sorry Sasuke. I don't know why I said those things!" Naruto gasped, coughing up more blood. A raged cry sounded and a few more gunshots were heard. Both teens flinched- Naruto even more violently.

"It's okay Naruto. It wasn't you," Sasuke whispered, stroking the whiskered cheeks as he watched Naruto fade.

"I do love you, Sasuke; don't forget that," Naruto whispered before his eyes finally slid shut and his breathing stopped. Sasuke's body shook until he couldn't suppress it any longer. A sob escaped his throat and tears trailed down his face.

"N-Naruto!" tears were falling thick and fast down the Uchiha's face as he held the smaller teen in his arms. The cold laughs continued as the tears continued to fall. Gently, Sasuke placed his lover on the ground and stood up, back to Orochimaru. Everybody was silent and everything seemed to have stopped. A few sniffs were heard from the youngest Uchiha whose hands were shaking. He clenched his fists to control the shaking before he lashed his body around, eyes wide with rage.

"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" the howl of pain and anguish reverberated around the walls, promising death and everything worse to the person who had caused it. Orochimaru giggled before making his way over to Gaara.

"Why would you kill me, Sasuke-kun? I killed the defective one, and I plan on making a stronger one," Orochimaru cooed in a lisp, grabbing Gaara's cheeks. Not one to be touched in such a manner, Gaara spat at the man holding him, causing him to withdraw in disgust.

"I don't appreciate you touching my sparring partner like that," a whisper came. All eyes whipped around to see Shukaku leaning against the door frame.

"Who the fuck cares? This bastard needs to die!" Sasuke yelled, rushing towards the black haired man who just smirked at Sasuke as he was caught around his middle by Itachi. A look of betrayal crossed the face of the younger brother as his older brother held him back from avenging his lover.

"Itachi! Let me go!" he yelled, struggling in the older raven's grip, tears still streaming down his face.

"No! Get a GRIP, Sasuke!" Itachi ground out as Shukaku pushed himself away from the door frame and took his space next to Gaara.

"NO! He killed Naruto! HE KILLED MY NARUTO!" he sobbed, giving up with Itachi and allowing his older brother to pull him into a tight hug. Shukaku frowned as he took in what had happened. All of the children had passed out and were bleeding, only Tsunade, Gaara, Kakashi, Jiraiya, Sasuke and Itachi were full conscious; the rest were on the floor, out of the way of damage. Kaoru had grabbed a hold of Kamari's hand and Stone's hair; Gary was clutching onto Juura, pulling on her jumper. Kurenai had collapsed on top of her husband, one hand sprawled on his chest, the other holding onto the hand of his nephew's. Shukaku shook his head at all the unnecessary bloodshed before turning to Orochimaru. He looked past the man and raised an eyebrow.

"You really made a bad move there," he whispered. Orochimaru snarled.

"I didn't ask for your opinion Shukaku!" he snapped and rounded on the sandy haired male who still had his eyebrow raised. His eyes trailed from the form behind Orochimaru, to Orochimaru and then to Sasuke and Itachi. He snorted and smiled at the two brothers.

"You guys might want to move in about five seconds," he commented airily. A cry of rage interrupted anything else Shukaku would've said afterwards as he looked down to see a sword sticking through him. A patch of red blossomed through his shirt and he uncrossed his arms to look down in amusement.

"Hm, seems I'll be taking my leave soo-" the rest of his sentence was cut off as another sword was stabbed through his chest. He glared at Orochimaru who had just stuck another sword through him as though he were a game of 'KerPlunk' that needed to be set up.

"That was extremely rude," he growled, blood pouring from the corner of his mouth. He smirked, however, as Orochimaru struck a final blow through his heart.

"Oh, you're going to get it now," he whispered as he collapsed onto the floor. Orochimaru smirked and turned back to Sasuke and Itachi.

"Why are you so sad? You knew you would fail, so why did you try? Now your poor little Uzumaki is-"

"Gunna kick your ASS!" came a yell from behind Orochimaru. It was amazing that Orochimaru didn't receive whiplash with the speed he turned his head at. Naruto was alive and standing, eyes blood red once more as his cuts steamed. Tsunade gasped.

"So those strange chemicals I found in your blood sample-" she realised.

"Now's not the time baa-chan!" Naruto growled, pacing nearer to the man who was obviously scared shitless of the teen that was currently approaching him, pulling a sword out of Shukaku at the same time.

"Sorry about that, man," he apologised to the body. A light cough was his answer. Sasuke was just staring at Naruto as if he had seen a ghost which- in all fairness- he kind of had.

"Naruto?" he asked, a bit unsure as how to communicate with him- the last time he'd had red eyes he'd been trying to kill him.

"One moment Sasuke, I need to kill this prick!" Naruto growled, raising the sword and rushing towards Orochimaru. He was about to swing down when a screech of metal upon metal interrupted the perfect decapitation swipe. Orochimaru had acted on the last second, pulling out a dagger to dodge the attack.

"Why won't you fucking die?" Naruto yelled as he rushed forward, forcing Orochimaru into a quick-paced waltz of dodges and swipes. As they proceeded to make their way around the room, Naruto slipped on some of his blood earlier, allowing Orochimaru and entry to slice at his throat. With reflexes even God didn't know that Naruto had, he swept backwards, avoiding the attack. He leant back up, eyes wide.

"HOLY SHIT! Sasuke, Gaara! Some HELP?" he screamed as he kept slipping on his blood from earlier.

"Bloody hell!" he yelled as he managed to dodge a deadly swipe, doing a move similar to the splits at the same time.

"ITAI!" he yelled, bending over to grab at his 'man-parts' after the complicated manoeuvre. Orochimaru saw yet another opening- this time at the blond's jugular. Just as he was about to stab down, another sword blocked his hit.

"You're not killing my boyfriend again you little fucker," came the deadly growl from the youngest Uchiha, which was then followed by a decisive 'Hm' from Gaara, who stood calmly, one hand in his pocket, the other holding the sword that he'd used earlier against Shukaku. It was only then that Orochimaru felt true panic and fear overwhelm. It was only for a second though as Naruto had then stood back up straight, rubbing his crotch.

"Oh my god that was painful! How do girls do that?" he groaned, getting back into his sword fighting stance.

"Let's get on with this then," he groaned, striking viper fast, barely giving the opponent any time to get his bearings. It was three on one- a good advantage- until they made their way past Shukaku's body and Orochimaru pulled a sword down from the mantelpiece above him, fending off all three hits at once.

"Oh no you didn't!" Naruto growled, pushing back with even more force, causing sparks to fly off of the metal. The others looked worried slightly at the blond, who seemed to be blinking a lot. Orochimaru was grinning. Sasuke and Gaara both resumed fighting against Orochimaru as Naruto seemed to be slowing down, blinking even more.

The dance was deadly, carefully scheduled; not a move out of place. Sparks flew with particularly violent hits. Every now and then Naruto would slow down but for what he lacked in those moments Sasuke and Gaara would catch up and pick up the slack. It was when they'd gone on about their third circle of the room when it ended. Itachi, being the weasel he is, snuck behind Orochimaru as he was about to step backwards, and stuck his foot out, causing the man to stumble and then slip on his discarded tongue before cracking his head against a small step. The three teens leered over the man who was lying on the ground, disorientated.

"I guess this is it, huh?" Naruto asked as he poised the tip of his sword above the throat of the man beneath him.

"Yup," Sasuke supplied, gently applying more pressure to his sword where the tip rested above Orochimaru's heart.

"Sweet dreams!" Gaara supplied, placing the tip of his weapon on his crotch.

"Gaara!" Naruto told the insomniac. The redhead looked to the red-eyed blond who looked uncomfortable and was still blinking a lot.

"What?" he asked, applying more pressure.

"Dude, I'm happy this is over but just looking at what you're about to do makes me cringe!" Naruto complained. Sasuke did so happen to look a little pale too. Gaara sighed.

"Fine!" he replied, and moved his sword to lay in between the eyes.

"On the count of three," Sasuke ordered.

"One,"

"Two,"

"Three!"

A 'schluck' sound resounded around the room as the body was stabbed repeatedly, blood coating the floors. When the boys were finished, they stood back- each with a bit of blood on them. A bit was trickling down from near Naruto's eyes. He wiped it away with his sleeve only for it to come back. He blinked repeatedly- his eyes were starting to sting. He cried out in pain and fell to the floor, covering his eyes.

"Naruto!" Sasuke was by his side in a flash, trying to get the blond to look up and bring his hand away from his eyes. A look of terror appeared on his face when he saw the blood dripping through his fingers.

"Tsunade!" Sasuke yelled. The medic was over there in an instant, trying to get the blond to pull his hands away from his eyes.

"Naruto, sweetie, you need to let me have a look! We need to get everyone to a hospital, okay? And to do that, I need to be able to take a look at your eyes and tell them the damage," she comforted. Slowly, Naruto pulled his hands away from his eyes to reveal them changing from red to blue to black and then repeating- each time they changed colour, more blood would spill. Tsunade sucked in a breath and just tore of a strip of her shirt.

"Close your eyes Naruto; there's an ambulance waiting outside- can you walk to it for me?" she asked, tying the strip of cloth around Naruto's eyes so that they were slightly bandaged. Naruto nodded, grabbing onto Sasuke's uninjured arm for support. The two of them made their way out of the mansion and into the early dawn light. Naruto gripped Sasuke's arm tighter.

"Sasuke?" he asked. Said raven turned to face his lover.

"Hm?" he asked in reply. Naruto swallowed.

"I don't feel too good," he whispered before thin trails of red started to pour from his mouth. Nothing could have been done as the blond crashed to the ground for what seemed like the thousandth time that day.

* * *

><p>Hospitals. The place where people came to die. The place where people came to be saved. Naruto wasn't in either state, but comatose. Sasuke had been waiting at his bedside for two weeks now, waiting for him to wake up. The first day that Naruto had been brought in, he was instantly attached to life support. It was after the first week that he was officially pronounced comatose and it had upset the youngest Uchiha to the highest degree. He wouldn't eat unless forced and wouldn't speak unless to ask about Naruto's condition which was always the same.<p>

"He's stable, but still comatose. It's a weak coma so he'll snap out of it soon hopefully," the medic supplied. Sasuke just nodded and went back to his moping position, head lying by Naruto's arm that was still hooked up to a drip that was staying true to its name and dripping.

"Sasuke, you should go home for a bit," came a familiar voice from the doorway. This request had been told to him at least twice a day for the past two weeks.

"I'm not leaving until he wakes up Itachi," Sasuke sighed, actually turning to face his brother this time. Before, Sasuke would've just ignored him and carried on staring at the blond. Itachi was taken aback by this sudden change.

"Sasuke, at least go home to take a shower, you stink," he told his younger brother, trying to use some humour. Sasuke just gazed longingly at Naruto before sighing and lowering his head.

"Is there going to be someone here to keep him company when I'm gone?" he asked, grabbing the blond's still hand in his own. Itachi smirked.

"A little gaggle of terrors," he chuckled.

"I heard that, weasel!" a yell echoed through the door. The corners of Sasuke's mouth twitched upwards in a smile as he looked through the small window in the wooden door to see Kiba,Gary, Kamari, Kaoru and Stone all standing there, still with a few bandages around their person. Sighing, Sasuke stood up and hugged Itachi, shocking him into rigor mortis. Eventually, he raised his hands to hug his little brother back.

"Thank you so much, Aniki," he whispered, squeezing his brother tightly. Itachi smiled and coughed slightly.

"Otouto, you're crushing me slightly," he replied back just as softly. Sasuke broke away, hastily wiping his eyes on his sleeve. Itachi smiled gently.

"C'mon Sasuke, let's let these guys take over for you," he told his little brother before the two of them exited Naruto's room. Once he was outside the room, he was met with various pats on the back and a sympathetic look or two. He felt cold when he wasn't in the room- he wrapped his arms around himself and looked around. Itachi sighed and took his jacket off, placing it around Sasuke's shoulders. Sasuke looked up to his older brother who just smiled back.

"Sasuke, you really smell- don't get any of it on my jacket," he teased. And just like that, order was restored.

Kiba sat at the foot of Naruto's bed, poking his feet.

"Dude, I don't get comas," Kiba stated. Stone snorted.

"You're such an idiot," he muttered. Kamari placed his crutches down as he sat on the chair next to Naruto's head where Sasuke constantly stayed. He sniffed slightly and grimaced.

"Ew, it smells like mouldy Sasuke in here- can you open the window please Kao or y'know, spray some Febreeze?" he asked, recoiling at the smell. Everyone wrinkled their nose slightly at the smell. Stone walked over to the window and opened it when something caught his eye. Slightly to his right, there was a man staring up at their room. Carefully, so as not to get caught, he tilted his head, making it look as though he was scanning the car park and looking for a visitor. The man was heavily wrapped in bandages, leaning on a cane. After getting a long enough look, Stone was about to turn back when the man smiled straight at him. Stone jumped and faked an embarrassed grin before stepping away from the window. As he turned around, his grin disappeared and a thoughtful expression crossed his face. Gary, who was changing Naruto's blanket at the time, caught his expression.

"What's up?" he asked, folding the blanket in his arms. Every head turned to Stone at this question.

"There was a man covered in bandages staring at Naruto's hospital window," he explained, sitting on one of the chairs that had been provided, chin resting on his hand.

"Maybe it was just a coincidence," Kiba supplied as he ran a wet soapy flannel down Naruto's face. Stone sighed heavily and ran a hand down his face as he thought about what it could've been- he then remembered the smile. It had been slightly creepy and haunting, but still enough to pass off as a smile when alerting someone with their presence. It was almost as if the man had wanted to be caught.

"I don't what it is, but I don't have a good feeling about it," he muttered when the door burst open, flooding the room with more visitors. His frown was lost in the sea of faces that were crowding around the unconscious blond. Sai was at the back with his crutches, trying to get closer until he eventually got tired of asking Konohamaru to move and tripped him with his aid.

"Ouch! Sai, why'd you do that?" Konohamaru asked. Sai smiled at him.

"Because you wouldn't listen when I asked you to move," he told the boy sweetly before moving to the forefront of Naruto's bedside.

"Anybody else realise that as soon as Sasuke leaves, everybody else floods in to see him?" Kiba asked- his reply was a smack to the head from Sakura and an explanation from Ino.

"You idiot; Naruto is Sasuke's soul-mate- you interfere with their bonding and you might as well just be yelling at them to break up! Honestly, think about it! If Hinata was in a coma after going through everything Naruto went through, you'd want to make sure that nothing ever happened to her ever again, wouldn't you? You'd stay by her side 24/7 to ensure that she woke up to a face that she loved, wouldn't you- you'd want to be there to hold their hand and explain what happened, wouldn't you?" she asked. Kiba swallowed and looked towards Hinata, devotion clear in his eyes.

"Of course," he replied, making the girl blush.

"So now you know how Sasuke feels," she finalised. Kiba nodded and took Hinata's hand in his own. The girl smiled at him and placed a kiss on his lips.

"Thank you Kiba-kun," she whispered, making the boy blush and grin.

Sai, meanwhile, made his way to the window to see the same man from earlier still staring up at the window. Sai smiled at him and waved.

"Who're you waving at Sai?" Kabuto asked.

"There's a strange man staring at our room," Sai replied, eyes still closed in his smile and hand still moving before he stepped away. Stone snapped up.

"Covered in bandages?" he asked. Sai frowned.

"Yeah- how'd you-"

"He was there earlier," he sighed. Sai hummed in thought before sitting by Naruto's side. He stared at the boy, lying on his hands and on the edge of the sheet when something caught his eye. It was square, thin and a slight cream colour. He sat up, noticing that he couldn't see it from here which made him smile.

"Hey, Neji, is there still that woman downstairs selling prayer cards?" he asked the pale eyed brunet. Neji looked to him.

"Yeah, why?" he replied. Sai smirked.

"What kind of material were they made of and what colour are they?" he asked, grin widening as he managed to spot about five more, all hidden in various places.

"A rich sort of card and a cream sort of colour; why?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest.

"So, say if I were to place one on the bed-sheet of a hospital in just the right place, it'll blend in?" he asked gleefully.

"What are you getting at Sai?" Neji asked, frustrated. Sai turned around with a massive grin on his face, holding about 10 of the cards in his hand, all with Sasuke's neat cursive script on them. Neji blinked.

"No way," was the statement from Kiba as he approached the smiling raven and grabbed the cards to see that they were all indeed, written by Sasuke. There were several where the ink in his pen had blotched making it near impossible to read, suggesting tears- lots of them. It pulled at the boy's heartstrings to think that Sasuke had been driven to this and actually crying in the process. Kiba swallowed.

"When Sasuke gets back here, we're not leaving him alone with Naruto," he explained. Everyone was shocked at this.

"Why?" Gary asked, innocently curious and once again, eating chocolate. Kiba sighed.

"He's clearly upset about the whole thing and he needs some comfort as well. Personally, I nominate Itachi," he told them in a serious voice.

"Hm, Itachi does seem like a good candidate but the thing is he's still looking after Kisame. Kakashi seems strong but then again he taking care of Iruka," Kamari suggested.

"How about Granny Tsunade?" Konohamaru asked. Everyone turned their eyes to him, surprised at his geniality. They were so busy staring at Konohamaru, they didn't see Naruto's hand twitch, or his fist clench. It was only when there was a small groan that they looked to see the teen moving slightly.

"Someone call the nurse!" Ino yelled.

"Fuck that! Someone call _Sasuke_! I'm not being murdered because no-one bothered to tell him his boyfriend woke up!" Kaoru yelled. Sakura whipped out her mobile and pressed speed-dial for Itachi. The phone rang several times before it was picked up.

"Yo," came Kakashi's voice.

"Kakashi? Why are you picking up Itachi's phone?" Sakura asked, frustrated that she couldn't get to the older Uchiha in time.

"Maa, I thought you'd be glad to hear me," it was clear that Kakashi was pouting.

"Cut the crap Kakashi, Naruto's waking up!" she yelled down the phone.

"What? Seriously?" there was the sound of the phone being dropped and a muffled yell on the other end.

"Itachi! Drive Sasuke to the hospital- it's a matter of life and death!" there was another muffled voice.

"What's going on? Is he relapsing?

"NARUTO'S RELAPSING? NO!" came a newer distraught voice.

"No, Naruto's waking up you idiot!" Kakashi told him.

"WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU SAY IT'S A MATTER OF LIFEAND DEATH THEN?" Came a roar quite close to the phone

"I meant that if you didn't drive your baby brother down to him in time for Naruto to open his baby-blues then Sasuke would kill you. God, we really need some humour in this house!" came the distressed reply from Kakashi.

"Hey! Wait for me!" he yelled as in the background a door slammed. The click of the end-call button sounded and Sakura was frozen to the spot. There was another small groan from the bed and Sakura hoped that Naruto could stay unconscious for just a little longer until Sasuke was by his side. Her wish was not granted however as his hand groped around his side.

"Sasuke," he muttered, still looking for a hand that wasn't there.

"HEY!" he yelled, trying to get somebody's attention, voice cracking to where it hadn't been watered over the past three weeks he'd been admitted into hospital. It was then that Sakura realised that nobody had said anything and Naruto had assumed that he'd woken up alone.

"Naruto!" she yelled happily. He jumped at that, unable to see her as there were bandages over his eyes.

"Sakura-chan?" he asked, trying to sit up, but wincing as he did so.

"Oh my god, my back feels like the morning after I first had sex with Sasuke!" he complained, grabbing his lower-back. Sakura sweat-dropped.

"Naruto, there're a lot of people in the room- including small children- they're just too shocked to speak at the moment and I think Kiba's going to throw up" she laughed nervously. Naruto blushed a shade of magenta at that and looked around.

"Eheheh, sorry about that guys," he said nervously.

"Who cares?" Kiba burst out running over to his best friend, going to give him a huge hug when the door slammed open onto his face as Sasuke burst in.

"Ouch, that's gotta hurt," Shikamaru supplied from his point on the chair.

"What happened?" Naruto asked, distressed that he couldn't see anything.

"Naruto," Sasuke whispered from his place in the doorway, uncaring of the bleeding and unconscious boy behind the door.

"Sasuke?" Naruto's head whipped to the side as he blindly stared at the door. There was a tense silence that was only broken when Shikamaru coughed.

"Well, I gotta go be hitting the sack so," and he stretched and walked off. Nobody seemed to be getting the message when he'd reached the door and so he turned around and glared at everyone.

"Everyone, get out, now! Sasuke and Naruto need some alone time!" Shikamaru told them. They finally caught on with many 'Oh's and they left, wishing Naruto to get better soon. Sakura left last, dragging Kiba's unconscious form and closing the door after herself.

"Sasuke, are you still there?" Naruto asked, confused at the silence.

"Of course I am dobe," he whispered, running towards the bed and tackling him.

"Whoa! Sasuke, calm down!" Naruto protested but was quickly shut up when a pair of lips crashed down on his.

"Never scare me like that again!" Sasuke ordered, kissing his lover once more but more gently.

"What happened?" Naruto asked. Sasuke sighed and sat on top of his boyfriend.

"You passed out after we killed Orochimaru- you were bleeding from your eyes. You've been in a coma for two weeks, hospitalised for three," Sasuke explained. Naruto looked confused.

"We killed Orochimaru? All I remember was coming to in the middle of the fight after you injected me- Orochimaru used me as his human shield," he recalled. Sasuke blinked.

"You don't remember waking up after that?" he asked. Naruto shook his head.

"Did we kick ass?" he replied in question. Sasuke smirked.

"Yes Naruto, we kicked ass." He told him, leaning for another kiss. Before they could quite make it, the door was ripped off its hinges.

"YOU BRAT! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME HE WAS AWAKE! I NEED TO RUN TESTS!" Juura screamed, hitting Sasuke so hard over the head with her clipboard it smashed.

"Now look what you made me do!" she yelled, hitting him over the head with her fist.

"Juura?" Naruto asked. Said person stopped hitting Sasuke to turn to the blond in bed.

"Ah! Naruto, you're probably wondering why you can't see, right?" she asked. Naruto nodded, along with Juura. She stuck out her index finger and went into an explanation.

"Well, when you were injected with the drug, various chemicals you wouldn't understand about were sent into your system. Because the anti-bodies from your spinal fluid were suppressed by a strong radiation from the drug, it was able to take over your actions, altering your neuron-patterns. Your frontal cortex was affected and as a result, your eyes were dyed red from the blood that had been thinned due to the heparin that was in the solution. Luckily it was only temporary as the allele that controls your eye colour managed to fight off the mutation. It also gave a higher platelet count in your body, allowing you to heal much quicker than the average person with no scabbing because the heparin counteracted that. Your blood was so thin because where heparin acts as an anticoagulant, there were no clots for it to thin, so it just thinned the blood around it. Adrenaline was falsely entered into your system, giving you a higher speed and faster reaction times but I'm guessing that there was a chemical in there that made you forget what happened whilst the high was happening. Any questions?" She asked. Naruto looked lost and Juura sighed.

"You were injected; your blood thinned; there was a compound in the drug that made you forget. You can't see because your blood thinned so much that it tried to exit through your eyes and mouth. Your eyes are currently bandaged- so you cannot see." She explained in a much simpler manner.

"Why couldn't you have just said that in the first place?" Naruto asked, tilting his head. Juura sighed heavily.

"Would you like me to take your bandages off or not?" she snapped. Naruto shrank back and nodded. As she approached, Sasuke's hand blocked her own.

"I'll do it," he told her. Juura sighed.

"Whatever, Romeo." She told him, smirking.

"Hey! I can hear that smirk!" Naruto told her. She laughed before sitting on the chair by the bed. Delicately, Sasuke took the back of Naruto's bandages and untied the knot that was holding them in place. He began unwrapping them gently. Naruto could see some light breaking through the bandages and a blob that was blocking some which he assumed was Sasuke. The bandages eventually fell away around Naruto's neck as there was less to support them. The first thing he saw was Sasuke's smile. The words to come out of his mouth were not what he expected as something caught his eyes just as he was about to say something.

"Holy crap Juura, you've dyed your hair!" he gasped, looking at the now redhead. She laughed nervously.

"My bad?" she asked. Naruto shook his head.

"It looks good!" he insisted. She blinked before breaking out into a grin.

"Thanks!" she beamed, earning one back from the blond.

"I feel rejected," Sasuke feigned hurt. Naruto looked back to his boyfriend, pulling him forward by the collar of his shirt and kissing him passionately.

"Better?"

"Much."

* * *

><p><strong>Five Years Later<strong>

Naruto scratched his head as he placed a box beside him.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" he asked his companion. The raven beside him nodded, checking the picture once more.

"Yep, definitely certain," he told his counterpart, kissing him on the cheek before walking through the door.

"Hurry up with those boxes!" he yelled to the two people behind the blond who were struggling with boxes.

"That's easy for you to yell! You don't have to move all your junk now you have us here!" Obito yelled, struggling with a box marked in Sharpie as 'Bedroom'. Naruto turned to the two Uchihas that were struggling.

"Here, let me help!" he offered, extending a hand. Shisui and Obito straightened up, not struggling with the boxes any more.

"No, we're fine!" they both protested in unison, walking towards the small Japanese styled home before them. Naruto grinned.

"Yeah, sure you are," he told them, walking past and sliding open the door for them. They smiled appreciatively at them before following Sasuke down the hall to where the bedroom was going to be.

Sasuke walked out of the room to the back garden where Naruto was staring at a small pond with a smile on his face. There were a few frogs around which saddened the blond. Sasuke noticed this and sat on the small step that went down to the garden next Naruto.

"You still miss him?" Sasuke asked, placing a hand around Naruto's shoulder. Said blond just nodded, leaning his head on Sasuke's shoulder.

"Out of all the people to die that night, I wouldn't have thought that he would've gone," Naruto whispered, sniffing slightly. Sasuke smiled slightly.

"Have you finished his book yet?" Sasuke asked. Naruto shook his head. Sasuke grinned.

"The ending is pretty good," Naruto looked up.

"Teme! I told you not to read ahead of me!" he complained, shoving against his boyfriend's chest. Sasuke chuckled and brought Naruto in close to press a kiss to his lips.

"How's the world now, dobe?" he asked. Naruto sighed and smiled.

"Much more bearable. Tsunade's doing a pretty good job of managing the Government if I say so myself. Although apparently there's this old man who works there who she finds extremely suspicious- covered in bandages and with a cane but hey, I'm not one to judge," he told the raven Sasuke chuckled.

"I'm just amazed that she hasn't gotten the whole world into debt with gambling," he chuckled. Naruto laughed.

"Ah, baa-chan, the wonders you put us through," Naruto reminisced. Sasuke smiled and looked to the house behind him where Obito and Shisui were still unloading things from the removal van.

"I'm amazed she got us such a good place!" Sasuke told him. Naruto chuckled.

"I think Gary and Shikamaru may have filed a complaint about 'loud neighbour disturbances' to be perfectly honest," he laughed. Sasuke chuckled along.

"I'm glad the world is back together again," Naruto sighed.

"Yeah, me too."

**End 'Fighting Darkness'**

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><p><strong>Before you start to weep about the unfairness of it all, THERE IS A SEQUEL! It should be up around September October time for those of you who are wondering and I should warn you now- it's still yaoi, there is a side of yuri and MPreg, just in case you don't like that stuff.**

**I'm kinda sad this has ended but I guess that because I know there's a sequel, I'm much better. Although I'm gunna be sadder when the sequel ends. **

**And in case you're wondering- yes, I killed Jiraiya; sorry about that but he had to die for the sequel to happen! Sorry bros. **

**Ah, as we come to an end on this fic, I'd like to say thanks to a few people. First and foremost, I want to say a huge thank-you to Fullmetal Gary and Juura99 for first of all allowing me to use their characters in this story and for sticking with me through the whole of this story. This is my longest one yet and m most stuck-to one where I never once considered giving up and my greatest thanks go to you for motivating me to never give up!**

**I also want to thank **Kiki2222, Raven-chan, Ofeliarage, JustR, CatchinfForRain, **and to all of those who favourite and alerted but did not review because even though you did not tell me what you thought, just knowing that people liked it enough to continue reading and favourite it helped me continue, so thank you so much!**

**Until my next FanFiction!**

**xCastielsGirlx**

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><p><em>This FanFiction was brought to you by The Lazy Sheets Co.<em>


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